Blue & Evil: The Beginning
by PernDragonrider
Summary: This is a prequel to my drabble Evil Meets Blue On The Beach. It's a story of how Chad Lee met Ryan Mitchell before Chad every became the Blue Lightspeed Rescue Ranger. Warning: SLASH!
1. Chapter 1

**Blue & Evil: The Beginning**

By: PernDragonrider

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything to do with Power Rangers. Just borrowing the characters for a little romance then returning them. No money being made; so don't sue.

**Author's Notes:** This contains SLASH! Relationship between two men and if you don't things like that please hit the back button and go no further. This plot bunny hid and bit before I could get rid of it. This is a prequel to my drabble entitled "Blue Meets Evil On The Beach!" Just one possible explanation for the tale of how Chad Lee and Ryan Mitchell might have became a couple. Enjoy and please leave a review. Pern. Now onto the tale…

Chapter One – First Meeting 

"_God what a boring day!"_ Chad Lee thought as he peeled his wetsuit off and changed into street clothes after his shift at the Mariner Bay Aquarium. _"The place was completely dead today and I need a beer!"_

"Hey Chad!" Samantha, a fellow co-worker yelled through the closed door of the men's locker room. "A bunch of us are headed over to a new club just outside of Mariner Bay called 'Infusion' wanna come along?"

"Sure, Sami." Chad called back as he stepped into his tight black jeans. He slid a royal blue wife beater over his head, tucked the tail into his jeans, zipped and snapped his jeans across his trim hips, and then slipped a dark midnight blue short sleeved dress shirt over the wife beater; leaving it unbuttoned. He combed his dark damp hair into his usual style. Chad closed and locked his locker and then sauntered out the door and joined the five or six of his female co-workers that were going.

"You want to ride with one of us, gorgeous?" Sami asked with a suggestive smile gracing her pretty face.

"Nah, but thanks for the offer, Sami." Chad replied with a small smile. The teasing between the two had been going on for the last six months; but they were friends and Chad really wasn't looking to get hooked up with a co-worker. "I'll drive myself. I've got the day off tomorrow and I don't want to leave my truck here all night."

"Not a problem, Chad." Sam replied with an understanding smile. "You can follow us. We're driving in my SUV."

"Okay. I'll follow you." Chad said as he left the women and strolled over to his vehicle that was parked toward the other side of the employee parking lot.

"Sami!" One of the women hissed as they went toward Sami's large Ford Excursion. "You didn't tell Chad that club we're going to is for gay men and women. Why not?"

"Suffice to say that I owe Chad for turning me down one to many times, Veronica." Sami replied with a smile that was somewhere between impish and anger. "I've been making passes at him for the last six months and he acts like I don't even exist. This is my way of paying him back."

"You are such a bitch, Sami." Debbie said with a teasing tone of voice. "You're going to drag the best looking guy we work with into a gay club just because he won't date you. Hell he won't date anyone he works with. You might piss him off, Sami. He is your immediate boss. What happens if he decides to take his anger out on you at work?"

"Not likely." Samantha said with a frown. "He's so damned straight-laced about almost everything that I just want to see his face when the guys at Infusion start hitting on him. He'll probably blush and run out the door screaming in terror."

The women had a good laugh as they climbed into Samantha's vehicle and pulled away from the parking space with Chad's black Dodge Ram pickup truck following a safe distance behind.

The drive to the club was uneventful and since Mariner Bay wasn't that big it took only about twenty minutes to get from the Aquarium to the club, Infusion, just about three miles outside of the city. Had any of the women in the SUV in front of Chad's truck taken the time to look back as they pulled into the parking lot, they would have seen a huge smile of delight covering Chad's handsome, chiseled, Asian features.

"_Oh man!"_ Chad thought as he parked his truck next to the SUV that contained his female co-workers. _"I can't believe I haven't found this place before now. SHIT! I wish they'd have told me that this was a gay bar. I'd have ran home and gotten my leathers and bike instead. Oh well, can ditch the shirt in the truck. Might find someone I want to make an impression on in there."_ He suited his thoughts to actions and before climbing from his truck he shed the midnight blue button-up shirt and uncaringly tossed it over the seat. He took a few seconds to adjust his hair and then climbed out with a small smile on his face. "Hey gals." Chad said with a teasing tone of voice. "Ready to go in and see if we can find any companionship for the night?"

"I'll be your nightly companion anytime, handsome." Sami said a smoky tone of voice; however the leer on her face that did nothing for her looks; nor did it make her look seductive at all.

"Sorry Sami." Chad said with a smile. "Have to say, for the umpteenth time, that you're just not my type. Besides, I make it a habit not to date co-workers; especially co-workers that I'm their supervisor."

Chad walked away from the completely stunned group of women and up to the entrance of the club. He pulled his wallet out and provided his drivers license and the money for the cover charge to the bouncer at the door. The women had finally recovered from their shock over what had been said to Sami and joined him. They each paid their cover and had their licenses checked before entering the dimly lit, slightly smoky interior of the club.

Chad strolled over to a large table that gave a good view of the entire club while also allowing him to be seen as well. He pulled out his chair and sat. Seconds after the ladies had joined him; a very muscular and handsome man approached the table to take their drink orders.

They placed their orders and the women were completely in shock as they watched their boss look over the men in the place with a growing smile starting to appear on his chiseled features. "Thanks for telling me about this place, guys." Chad said with a tone of delight showing in his voice. "I was beginning to think Mariner Bar was the boondocks."

"Huh?" Veronica said with a grunt of surprise as their drinks were placed on the table and uncharacteristically Chad paid for the bill.

"First round is on me." Chad said with a bright smile of delight as he paid the waiter without looking at his now completely astonished co-workers. "My treat for brining me here tonight. This is just what I needed."

On the other side of the club a lone figure sat in a shrouded booth. His eyes roamed over the men of the club with abandon. He'd been ready to leave and go back to the underground half-reality that had been his home for years when he saw Chad and his co-workers enter the club. _"He's the one! I will have him!"_ The man thought and yet he sat and watched as the Asian featured well-built man sat easily in the chair. He watched the man's dark eyes twinkle with delight as other males approached and were sent away with a few words yet none seemed to take offense at the obvious denials they were receiving. After about a half an hour of watching his "prey" as he'd come to think of the lone man at the table with six other women.

"Would you care to dance?" The tall, muscular, light brown haired, and brown eyed man asked in a smoky and lust filled voice once he'd gotten to the table where Chad was seated enjoying the music and the attention.

"Yes, I think I would." Chad said with a smile as he placed his beer on the table behind him and rose lithely from his chair.

The girls at the table almost fell out of their chairs in shock as their co-worker and in some cases, boss, was led onto the dance floor by the handsome man that had just approached the table. None of the women were prepared when as if by magic the band changed to a slow sensuous old song by the Bay City Rollers entitled "The Way I Feel Tonight". The further got complete shocks when Chad melted into the large man and the two swayed together on the dance floor talking quietly.

"You've never been here before." The larger man said with a still smoky and now sultry tone of voice. "I would have seen you had you been. My name's Ryan, Ryan Mitchell."

"First time here, Ryan." Chad replied and relished the slow, close dance with this man. It felt right to him to be in this man's arms and he was never one to against a feeling; especially one like this. "My name's Chad, Chad Lee."

"I want you, Chad Lee." Ryan said with a low passion filled voice as he pulled the smaller man closer to him and they could both feel the desire Ryan was displaying for Chad.

"Then let's get the hell out of here, now." Chad said with a grin as he stepped away and surprised the taller man with his strength as he pulled him from the dance floor and toward the door to the club. They passed the table where Chad's stunned co-worker sat with expressions that contained varying degrees of shock, surprise, and in a few cases huge smiles of delight.

"Thanks for telling me about this place, gals." Chad said with a smile of delight covering his very handsome face. "I'll see you at work day after tomorrow. Don't stay too late tonight. Most of you are on the schedule for tomorrow."

Chad and the tall, good looking, well built man left the table before any of them could comment on Chad's words. The only thing they overheard was Chad asking the man, "You're place or mine, Ryan?"


	2. Chapter 2 Two Days Later

**Blue & Evil: The Beginning**

By: PernDragonrider

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything to do with Power Rangers. Just borrowing the characters for a little romance then returning them. No money being made; so don't sue.

**Author's Notes:** This contains SLASH! Relationship between two men and if you don't things like that please hit the back button and go no further. This plot bunny hid and bit before I could get rid of it. This is a prequel to my drabble entitled "Blue Meets Evil On The Beach!" Just one possible explanation for the tale of how Chad Lee and Ryan Mitchell might have became a couple. Enjoy and please leave a review. Pern. Now onto the tale…

Chapter One – Two Days Later 

Chad stretched as he woke up and smiled as he felt his new lover, Ryan Mitchell, tighten his strong arms around his waist. "Ryan, I have to get ready for work." Chad said quietly as he rolled in the strong embrace to face his lover.

"Why?" Chad protested sleepily. "Stay home with me."

"Have to go, Ryan." Chad said sadly and then giving his taller blond, built, gorgeous, and very generous lover a passionate tongue kiss. "Damn, you taste so good." Chad sighed as he remorsefully pulled away from the best and most passionate male lover he'd had in years. "Need the money to pay my bills, Ryan. Besides I enjoy my job."

Ryan frowned darkly and angrily as Chad padded, nude, into the hallway and turned toward the bathroom of his medium sized apartment. Chad had no idea that Ryan wasn't a normal human; but one that had been taken from his family and raised by Demons that would soon be attacking the city of Mariner Bay in order to restore the temple to Queen Bansheera that had once stood where the thriving city was now built. "I want him here with me!" Ryan said angrily and seemingly into thin air.

"You must keep him from becoming a Power Ranger, Ryan." Diabolico's evil voice issued from everywhere in the room. "You are not to become attached to this human, but to corrupt him so he will not be accepted into the Lightspeed Rescue team that is even now being chosen."

"I've done everything I can think of, father." Ryan said with a slight frightened tremble in his voice. "We've had sex multiple time in the last two days. What more can I do? Give me a spell that will keep him here. You said today was the day he'd be chosen. If he's not at work; they won't find him, right?"

"A spell would be detected the second he stepped into the Lightspeed Base, Ryan." Diabolico said angrily. "You must keep corrupting him. Humans do not approve of same sex couplings and his engaging in sexual activities with you will show up on the medical exam. He will be expelled from the team for that."

"I will seduce him before he leaves for work then." Ryan said with conviction as he felt his father's presence leave the room. He rose from the bed and padded down the hallway and stepped into the steamy bathroom where Chad could be seen behind the clear glass shower doors. Ryan opened the door and slid into the shower with his lover. He turned the smaller man and kissed him forcefully and passionately even as his hands roamed down toward Chad's ass. He kneaded and squeezed the firm, pale olive globes as Chad moaned deep in his throat and into Ryan's possessive kiss. It didn't take Ryan long to fulfill his promise of seducing Chad into having relations in the shower and with Ryan behind him; Chad never saw the triumphant look that twisted and contorted Ryan's handsome face as he spilled his orgasm deep into Chad's very willing body. _"This evidence of his evil and perverse nature will keep him from being chosen and father will be most pleased with me. I'm so glad that I'm as twisted as the rest of my demon family. Father is right, this one will be mine alone and without him Mariner Bay will be destroyed and Queen Bansheera's Temple will once again rise in glory as will she when we return her to life."_

Chad groaned in pleasure as he achieved his orgasm seconds after Ryan did. He shivered slightly in the cooling water as Ryan eased out of his body and turned his smaller lover into a tight embrace as both men slowly recovered from the passionate encounter. Ryan tenderly kissed Chad's neck and then bit hard and sucked. Leaving a very visible hickey and teeth marks. Chad moaned in pleasure and returned the favor. "I want everyone to know you're mine, Chad." Ryan sighed his tone was meant to be possessive and angry; however it came out loving and caring without him even realizing it.

"And I want everyone that see you to know that you're claimed by me, lover." Chad said tenderly as he stroked Ryan's back. Both men shivered when the hot water turned very cold. Chad turned off the water quickly and both jumped out to dry off with large blue bath towels from the rack on the front of the shower door. "I'd really love nothing more than to stay here and make love all day long, but duty calls. I have to work today."

"Stay here, Chad." Ryan pleaded with sad puppy dog eyes. "Call in sick and stay here with me today, please lover?"

"I can't, Ry." Chad said very sadly. "Today is Vicky's day off and I have to be there to take care of dolphins and whales. I have some vacation time coming and I can get the next week off; but today's our busiest day. I'll be back home before you know it, Ry. Just hang out if you want. I've left you a key on the kitchen counter." Chad smiled sadly at Ryan before donning his biking briefs and pulling on a pair of tight blue jeans and a dark blue clinging t-shirt. He walked back toward the living room of his apartment. He picked up his wallet and truck keys from the small table by the front door and pulled Ryan, who'd followed him, still nude, into a tight hug and pulled his face down for a deep, passionate, and loving kiss.

Ryan wrapped his arms around Chad's wiry yet surprisingly muscular body and returned the kiss eagerly. Both men were breathless when the kiss ended and Chad, regretfully, pulled away from Ryan, turned, and quickly left the apartment. His loving smile didn't leave his face for the entire ten-minute drive to the Aquarium. He locked up his truck and was making his way toward the employee entrance when two men, dressed in military style uniforms approached him from a bright yellow Hummer.

"Chad Lee?" One man asked with a stern tone.

"Yes?" Chad asked warily as he stopped and faced the two men.

"Lieutenant Morgan, Lightspeed Rescue." One of the men said stepping slightly forward. "You're dossier has been chosen to become one the newest team of Power Rangers. Mariner Bay is going to be under attack and you're needed to protect our city and possibly our entire world. Your employer has released you to accompany us; if you're interested?"

"I'll come." Chad said as his smile left his face to be replaced with a serious expression.

"This way, sir." Lieutenant Morgan said and pointed toward the Hummer. Chad climbed into the large vehicle and rode in silence to the shore entrance to the underwater, supposedly secret, Lightspeed Rescue base.

Once inside the base, Chad was let into Captain William Mitchell's office. "Welcome Mr. Lee." Captain Mitchell said with a smile on his surprisingly handsome face; despite the scar that marred his cheek. "I'm glad you've decided to hear our proposal. I'm Captain Mitchell, head of Lightspeed Rescue." Mitchell extended his hand for a handshake.

Chad shook Captain Mitchell's hand even as he shook inside when he noticed similar features to his newest lover, and the man quickly becoming firmly entrenched in his heart. _"Oh shit! He's gotta be related to Ryan. FUCK! I sure hope he knows that Ryan's gay or at least bi or I'm dog meat."_ "Pleased to meet you sir." Chad said with a slight cough of surprise at the warm smile Captain Mitchell bestowed upon him.

"Right his way… May I call you Chad?" Captain Mitchell asked as he motioned Chad toward a large door set into the side of his office.

"Sure." Chad tossed out as casually as he was able to, considering the circumstances.

"Well then." Mitchell said with a bright smile. "Right this way, Chad. You'll meet the rest of the team before going down to medical for a quick physical to be sure you're compatible with the morpher. Then we're reconvening in the conference room just off my office. You'll have assigned quarters in the base; but are free to come and go unless there's an emergency."

Chad entered the room that Mitchell had indicated and took the only empty chair, besides the one at the head of the table. He smiled at the woman in pink on his left and the woman in yellow on his right as he sat down. "All right, now that everyone is here. I'll do some quick introductions and then you'll go to medical for an evaluation. "Carter Grayson decorated and dedicated fireman. Kelsey Winslow, extreme sports enthusiast and mountaineering expert. Joel Rawlings, skilled pilot and barnstorming expert. Dana Mitchell, certified EMT and training to be a nurse; as well as my daughter. Finally, Chad Lee, diver and marine expert. This is the team we've chosen from thousands of dossiers at our disposal. You'll be trained over the next week and have some time to get accustomed to the differences in your bodies after receiving your morphers. Training will start day after tomorrow to allow all of you to clear up any personal matters and let your families know you'll not be reachable for about a week. Lieutenant Morgan will lead you down to medical and then back up here after your check ups."

"Captain Mitchell?" Chad asked, a worried tone in his voice, just as the man was turning to exit the room. "Will Lightspeed be run under military rules, sir?"

"Partially." Mitchell replied with a slight smile on his face. "But not completely. We've done extensive research on this team. Your private dossiers, not the ones in the folders before you, are very complete and we're aware of most aspects of your private lives. Nothing will be held against you, of that you can be assured, Chad. We were very thorough and discrete during our investigations. If you are uncomfortable with us knowing anything about you; rest assured that your private files are locked in my safe and I am the only one that has seen them."

"It partially reassures me." Chad said cautiously. "I just hope that we'll be allowed off base sometime during our training so we can see our families."

"Definitely." Mitchell said with a warm smile. "We are not tyrants and I also understand that becoming Power Rangers is going to turn your lives upside down enough and you'll have, barring emergencies, two days off every week. This is a job and you will be paid wages for your time as Rangers. Government wages; but you will be paid."

"That's good to know." Joel quipped with a bright smile on his dark chocolate face. "At least I won't starve because I can't perform at air shows for a while."

"You'll all be compensated, Joel." Mitchell said with a friendly smile at all of them even as he laid a hand on Dana's shoulder. "Just to let you know; I had no input in the choice of the team; my daughter was chosen on her own merits and there will be no favoritism."

"Never doubted that, Captain Mitchell, sir." Carter said with a warm friendly smile directed at Dana.

"Let's get these physicals out of the way." Kelsey said brightly as she bounced slightly on the balls of her feet.

The group, led by Lieutenant Morgan, made their way through the large underwater base and soon arrived in the medical bay. Chad sighed in relief when he discovered that the exams would be conducted privately for each of them in a different cubicle. He was completely shocked when Dana Mitchell walked in to perform his exam.

"I'm sorry if this will make you uncomfortable, Chad." Dana said with an apologetic tone and small smile on her face. "Dad requested that I be the one to conduct your exam because all the rest of the medics are military personnel."

"I'd rather you than some straight-laced, prejudiced, military doctor, Dana." Chad replied with a huge sigh of relief. "Just so you know and won't be shocked when you do the exam; but I have a male lover and we made love just before I left for work this morning. That won't be problem will it?"

"Not with me, Chad." Dana said with an understanding smile and a bright twinkle in her eye. "I don't care what a person's sexual orientation is; but I'd keep it quiet on the base. Just simply because some of the military people will be angry and might decide to retaliate against you because of your preference and I'll be sure to keep that aspect of your exam out of the official military records."

"Thank you for doing that and just so you know; I can handle myself, Dana." Chad said with a bright smile lighting up his Asian featured face. "I've got a couple of black belts to my name so let them try something. Wouldn't be the first time I've had to bust a few heads over my preference in sex partners."

"Never doubted that you weren't capable of fighting, Chad." Dana said as she started the exam with practiced ease and competence. "You wouldn't be on the team if you didn't have some fighting skills. I hope your lover won't be angry with you for taking this position. Not many understand when their significant other is going to be gone for days at time. I know; my boyfriend broke up with me when I told him about joining Lightspeed."

"He'll understand, Dana." Chad said with a confidence he didn't feel. "He's a really great guy and he's fast becoming someone I don't want to live without in my life. Even though I just met him two days ago; I think he's the one for me, permanently."

The rest of Chad's exam went quickly and he and Dana were the last two to return to the large conference room attached to her father's office.

"Okay, that's the last of the team." Captain Mitchell said as he daughter and Chad Lee entered the room with bright smiles and laughter. He placed a large silver metal brief case onto the table and opened it. He turned it to face the people seated before him. "Carter, the red morpher and team leadership are in your hands. Joel, the green morpher is for you. Kelsey, the yellow is for you. Chad, you're going to be the Blue Ranger. Dana, the Pink Morpher is for you. Take them and put them on your wrists. These give you the ability to access the powers of a Power Ranger as well as serve as your communicators when you aren't morphed in your Ranger Armor. Be back here at the base no later than 0800 hours two days from now. Your training will start then."

"How do we get back to our vehicles?" Chad asked rising from his chair and taking his morpher from the padded case. "I was driven here by Lt. Morgan."

"Carter will drop all of you off at your destinations and then pick you back up in two days at your homes. After your training is complete; you'll be able to drive your personal vehicles back and forth if you wish. See you in two days, Rangers."

"Good bye, sir." Carter said stiffly and formally as he rose and saluted Captain Mitchell. "You won't be disappointed with us."

Chad shrugged and just smiled at the man while Kelsey and Joel did the same. Dana hugged her father and then all of them left the room. Carter drove the bright yellow hummer with competence as he dropped them all off at their destinations. His last stop was dropping Dana off and he blushed when he received a hug just before she jumped from the vehicle with a wave.

Chad, after he was dropped off, climbed into his truck with a worried frown crinkling his brow. _"Ryan didn't want me to go work today. He's not going to take me being gone for a full week very well and after spending the last two nights wrapped so lovingly in his arms; I'm not sure I'm going to sleep at all for a few days. This is going to complicate things; just what I didn't need."_ He glumly started his truck and drove to his apartment and the revelation he had to make to his lover. His mind was so awhirl with the problems telling his lover about his new job that he never even considered that Ryan's last name was the same as Captain Mitchell's and his new teammate Dana's.

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_**A/N:** That's all for this chapter folks. Hope you enjoyed it. Special thanks to CamFan4Ever for her input and feedback on this as it was written, kudos to you for your patience. Next chapter, telling Ryan about his new job and all the reactions that brings along with complications expected and unexpected; please, read and review. May the Power Protect You! Pern_.


	3. Chapter 3 Revelations & Promises

**Blue & Evil: The Beginning**

By: PernDragonrider

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything to do with Power Rangers. Just borrowing the characters for a little romance then returning them. No money being made; so don't sue.

**Author's Notes:** This contains SLASH! Relationship between two men and if you don't things like that please hit the back button and go no further. This plot bunny hid and bit before I could get rid of it. This is a prequel to my drabble entitled "Blue Meets Evil On The Beach!" Just one possible explanation for the tale of how Chad Lee and Ryan Mitchell might have became a couple. Special thanks, kudos, and bowing and scraping at CamFan4Ever's feet. Without her almost instant feedback, patience, and encouragement this tale would have never been written. Enjoy and please leave a review. Pern. Now onto the tale…

Chapter Three – Revelations & Promises 

"**_You have failed me again, Ryan."_** Diabolico's voice echoed angrily in Ryan's brain as he was lying on the bed waiting to console his lover over being run off the Lightspeed Rescue team because he was gay. He was completely unprepared for the disapproval and anger his father's thoughts conveyed. _"But I did seduce him and left plenty of evidence inside his body that he'd been with me!" _Ryan almost whined in terror because of Diabolico's displeasure with him.

"**_You did well in that, my son."_** Diabolico's voice was slightly less angry. **_"It is not your fault that the one to hold the pink morpher is sympathetic and has covered up his orientation. Continue to stay with this one and feed me information on their strengths and weaknesses, son. He comes, so be prepared."_** Ryan rose from the bed as his father's voice left his brain and he heard Chad using his key in the lock on the apartment door.

Chad entered his apartment with a slight frown marring his face. The frown turned into a smile when Ryan walked into the small living room from the hallway that led to the bedroom. "So? How was work today?" Ryan asked with a seductive smile gracing his handsome features.

"Didn't work." Chad answered with a small worried smile on his face. "Got into work and before I could enter the building a couple of military types had already spoken with my boss. I've got two days to clear things up and report to a new job. Ry, I'm going to be, no I am a Power Ranger. Apparently there's a need for team here in Mariner Bay and I got chosen to be the Blue Ranger."

"Power Ranger?" Ryan asked in feigned innocence. "That means I won't get to see you that much anymore, doesn't it?"

"I have to go back to the base in two days, Ry." Chad said sadly. "According to the head honcho, we're going to have regular days off; but I don't know when that's going to be. I want; no I need you in my life. Please tell me this isn't going to tear us apart? You're the first man I've ever met that has gotten so deeply entrenched in my heart that I don't think I can live without knowing you're okay with this. If you're not, I won't take the job. I'll just go back to my job at the aquarium."

"_I've done well, father."_ Ryan's thought reached out for his demonic father and he felt the wave of his father's approval wash over him briefly. _"Do I force him to refuse the Power Ranger position or do I tell him everything is all right and that we'll still be together?"_

"**_He's been accepted by the Power, my son."_** Diabolico's evil thoughts soothed the tension Ryan was feeling yet not betraying to his lover. **_"He must stay on the team, for now. Once Mariner Bay is again the rightful home of Queen Bansheera's Temple; then we will deal with these pitiful humans that are called Power Rangers."_**

"We'll work it out, Chad." Ryan told the still uncertain man standing nervously before him. "I have a job I have to do too. We'll find the time and we will stay together to see if our feelings are as deep as we think they are." Ryan pulled the now unresisting Chad into a tight hug and kissed him passionately. When the two finally had to pull apart for needed oxygen to supply their starving bodies, Ryan told him; "Let's go into the bedroom and I'll show you just how much I missed you today, lover." Ryan's voice was breathless, but also filled with passion and an underlying emotion that Ryan was completely unaware of. However Chad heard the love interlaced with the passion and never replied verbally, he simply took Ryan's hand and started toward the bedroom.

The next morning dawned and Ryan woke up with his arms full of his generous, handsome, and giving lover. His heart constricted painfully and he tightened his hold on the smaller man lying half on top of him. Chad stirred slightly and then sighed as he settled back into sleep. _"Why does my chest hurt whenever I look at this human?" _Ryan thought in confusion. _"I should hate him and every other human that is keeping Queen Bansheera's Temple from its rightful place and be wanting to subjugate everyone under her rule; but when I'm with this one, I can't seem to hate as I should. Am I weak?"_

Chad stirred again and for the second time that day Ryan's heart constricted as Chad slowly opened his eyes and gazed into Ryan's thoughtful and yet puzzled expression. "Morning, Ry." Chad sighed and gently kissed the man that held him so tender and lovingly. "What do you want to do today?"

Ryan responded to Chad's gentle kiss with one of his own and then deepened the exchange as their mutual passion from the night before rekindled. The passionate and fiery kiss ended only when both of them were breathless and their chests heaved in tandem as they drew in deep lung filling breaths of needed oxygen.

"I guess that means you'd rather stay inside all day and store up memories until we can meet again?" Chad asked with a seductive yet teasing tone of voice as he kissed his lovers chest while paying attention to the sensitive nipples.

"You promised to take me diving today." Ryan pouted; however his pout was destroyed as he gasped in pleasure when Chad's mouth paid homage to his chest.

"That I did didn't I." Chad almost purred in contentment as Ryan stroked his back with a long kneading motion. "We can do that or we can stay here for while and enjoy waking up together some more. I don't know when I'll be able to come back to the apartment, love." Chad's voice lost some of the contentment and took on a note of longing and loss as he continued to speak.

Ryan's heart pulsed strangely and skipped a beat when he thought of not having this man by his side for a long length of time. "Perhaps we can do both today, Chad?" Ryan asked with a slow seductive smile forming on his face and unknown to him his love shining deep in his expressive eyes. He gently tugged the man in his arms up to where he could fully enjoy the pleasures of kissing and being kissed as well as enjoying everything that kissing would eventually lead to.

A couple of hours later, both men were sated and were sharing a light late breakfast in Chad's small kitchen. "I have to find a good name for you, Chad." Ryan said with a thoughtful frown crossing his face. "You've already got a 'pet name' for me and I want one for you. I know! I'll call you, Blue. It's to honor your skills as a diver as well as your color as Power Ranger. Do you like it?" Ryan's thoughtful tone changed as he talked into excitement and then trepidation as he told of the 'pet name' he wanted to call his lover by.

"Hmm." Chad hummed thoughtfully as he walked over and stood behind where Ryan stood. He slid his arms around his lover's neck and gave a gentle hug as he almost purred in Ryan's ear. "I love it, Ry. Thank you. You're the first lover I've ever had that thought enough about me to give me a 'pet name'. I love the nickname and I love you, very much. You've gotten so deep into my heart and soul that I never want to lose you. This has never happened before and I'm terrified of losing you and chasing you away at the same time."

Ryan stood, turned, and took the uncertain man that had been behind him seconds before into his arms. "I'll be here, Blue. Whenever you can get away or whenever you need me. I'll be here waiting for you. I won't leave and I won't let you chase me away. I think I love you too, Blue." Ryan's voice was tender and he discovered to his dismay that his words were spoken not from his evil thoughts, but from his very heart and soul. _"Father can never discover that I've committed the crime of falling in love!"_ Ryan's thoughts panicked even as he held his 'Blue' tenderly in his arms. _"I cannot let father, Vipra, or any of the others hurt him; for it would tear me apart!"_

Chad, not knowing of the mental struggle that Ryan was going through as he was held tenderly and gently in his strong arms, sighed quietly as he wrapped his arms around Ryan's waist and hugged him tightly. "I do love you, Ry." Chad's quiet sigh reached Ryan's panicking thoughts and stilled them instantly. "I don't want to leave you either; but I have to report back to the base in the morning. Do you still want to go diving today?"

"I want to be with you, Blue." Ryan said truthfully and let his love for the man in his arms show in his voice. "Whether it's diving in the bay or here just standing in your arms. I truly wish I'd have been chosen to be on this team with you. Being a Power Ranger is dangerous, Blue. You be sure you don't jump into danger and never come back to me. I don't think I could ever forgive you for that."

Both men gave sad sighs of loss as they ended the loving embrace. "I'll do everything I can to come back home to you, Ry." Chad said truthfully. "You do everything you can and keep yourself safe during an attack. I don't want to lose you and I'd never forgive myself if you got hurt because of my new job."

Ryan smiled a tight smile and then he gave a small chuckle as he said, "Listen to the two of us, Blue. We sound like you're going off to war and I'm the little woman staying behind to keep the home fires burning. Damn, lets go diving. We both need the fun or we're going to wind up crying all over ourselves before the day is over with."

Chad laughed and Ryan joined him just seconds later as both men got a mental picture from the words Ryan had just used to describe the intense emotional scene they'd just played out. "God, Ry!" Chad said as he wiped the tears, laughter and pain mixed, from his face after a few minutes. "We are NOT getting all sappy and sentimental. You're right, love. Let's go diving and enjoy the rest of our time together. I'm going to have time off and we'll work all the other shit out as we go along. For now, I want you in my life and you want me back. That's all we have to concentrate on. The rest will come along the way."

The two men left the apartment with light hearts and spent the rest of day at one of the many secluded beaches that Mariner Bay offered to her citizens and visitors. Chad spent his time with Ryan and the two delighted in swimming in the nearly crystalline waters together. Late that evening they sat on the beach and watched the sunset together, arms wrapped about each other and just enjoying their time together before life separated them the next day.

"Blue?" Ryan asked as they watched Mother Nature pain the protected harbor before them with colors of gold, pink, yellow, and red.

"Yeah, Ry." Chad answered with a soft sigh of contentment.

"Can we do this every night?" Ryan asked with a wistful tone of voice. "No worries, no cares, just watching the sun go down together. I'll come here every night and if I can't I promise to stop and watch the sunset from wherever I am and I'll know that you're doing the same thing. It's something we can promise to do together; even if we're apart. Am I making any sense at all?"

"You're making perfect sense, Ry." Chad said as he hugged Ryan tightly with one arm. "I promise that I'll be here or someplace I watch the sunset every night. I won't go back into the base or back to the apartment until the sun has gone completely behind the horizon. That is something we can have that just ours. Our special time; no matter what is happening to either of us."

"It's a deal, love." Ryan said with a happy and contented sigh as he again turned his gaze out to the ocean. _"Even when Queen Bansheera's Temple is restored, this place will remain and I can bring my servant here every night before returning into her Temple and enjoying his charms fully."_ Ryan frowned slightly as the thought played through his head, but Chad never saw the doubt that creased his lover's handsome features. He'd moved to where he was reclined against Ryan's chest and cradled by his body as the two simply enjoyed one of Mother Nature's most delightful joys.

After the sun was fully hidden behind the distant horizon both men rose reluctantly from the sand and returned to Chad's apartment. Their lovemaking that night was poignant and a desperate attempt by both of them to store up the memories of each other until the next time they could be together and again enjoy the sunset together. The next morning, Chad slipped from Ryan's embrace and quietly dressed and left his apartment with a grim sad smile on his face.

"_I left Ry a note giving him the number to the base."_ Chad thought as he waited for Carter's arrival. _"I'll call him the second I know when my next day off will be."_ His musings was interrupted by Carter's voice calling out, "Hey Chad! Let's get a move on, guy. We'll be late!" Chad shook off the feeling of melancholy and impending danger as he jogged quickly down the walkway and jumped lithely into the backseat of the hummer, without opening the door. "Good morning, Carter, Dana." Chad's forced happy tone was lost on Carter, but Dana shot him a look of concern that Chad missed as he saw the curtain on his bedroom window move slightly and he knew that Ryan was watching him leave.

_**A/N:** That's all for this chapter folks. Hope you enjoyed it. Special thanks to CamFan4Ever for her input and feedback on this as it was written, kudos to you for your patience. Next chapter, telling Ryan about his new job and all the reactions that brings along with complications expected and unexpected; please, read and review. May the Power Protect You! Pern_.


	4. Dark Clouds & Silver Linings

**Blue & Evil: The Beginning**

By: PernDragonrider

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything to do with Power Rangers. Just borrowing the characters for a little romance then returning them. No money being made; so don't sue.

**Author's Notes:** This contains SLASH! Relationship between two men and if you don't things like that please hit the back button and go no further. This plot bunny hid and bit before I could get rid of it. This is a prequel to my drabble entitled "Blue Meets Evil On The Beach!" Just one possible explanation for the tale of how Chad Lee and Ryan Mitchell might have became a couple. Special thanks, kudos, and bowing and scraping at CamFan4Ever's feet. Without her almost instant feedback, patience, and encouragement this tale would have never been written. Enjoy and please leave a review. Pern. Now onto the tale…

**Chapter Four – Dark Clouds & Silver Linings**

Chad worked hard with his team during the day; however every night at sunset he was always on a secluded portion of beach near the submerged Aqua Base. Dana, occasionally, would accompany Chad but would never sit by Chad; she would sit further up or down the beach as Chad crouched, sat, or lay on the beach watching the sunset.

About three weeks after becoming the Blue Lightspeed Rescue Power Ranger, Chad and Dana were walking toward the spot, the place where Chad and Ryan had promised each other that they'd always watch the sunset over Mariner Bay. Dana wasn't looking ahead, but at her companion and she smiled slightly as Chad's almond eyes opened in surprise and delight. She looked in the direction Chad was and saw only the silhouette of a tall, well built man standing and facing the bay. She stopped walking and watched as her friend and teammate raced toward the shadowed figure with a bright, happy smile of delight gracing his Asian features.

Chad skidded to a stop, but his delight faded instantly as the Red Lightspeed Ranger turned to look at Chad's headlong rush to his side. "What's up Chad?" Carter asked even as he eyes were actually looking over Chad's shoulder at Dana slowly walking up to both men. "Is there an attack or something going on?"

"No, sorry Carter." Chad said very dejectedly. "I thought you were someone else. I'll go on up the beach and leave you and Dana to enjoy the sunset together." Carter couldn't tell in the subdued lighting of the sun's dying rays; but he could have swore he saw tears appear in his teammates eyes.

"Chad, stay here." Dana said with a soft understanding smile for her now hurting teammate. "Carter and I will walk on down the beach together. There's a spot just up the way that's has a nice collection of rocks where we can sit without getting full of sand. Stay here and enjoy the sunset. This is **your** spot, my friend. We'll leave you to enjoy the glory of what looks to be a very gorgeous sunset."

As Carter and Dana walked further up the secluded beach Chad's thoughts were not on the budding relationship between his commander's daughter and his team leader, but on the one man he missed more than anything. _"Where are you Ry? I haven't seen you for three weeks. You weren't at the apartment for my last days off and I'm miserable. I miss you. I need you. Where are you?"_

While Chad sat in misery on the beach, Ryan was sneaking away from his father, Diabolico, and the other demons in the half-reality that were the remains of Queen Bansheera's temple. _"Chad must be frantic."_ Ryan thought sadly. _"If father hadn't called me back here for something I would have already made it to OUR spot on the beach. I can still make it, just after sunset, provided I can sneak away."_

So lost in his thoughts of getting to Chad's side, Ryan didn't see Vipra blocking his path and he walked right into her. "Where are you going, Ryan?" The evil woman asked. "Diabolico said that he wanted all of us here for something special tonight. He will be most displeased to discover his son's abandonment."

"I'm going out for some fresh air, Vipra." Ryan growled in anger and part shame. "I just wanted to watch the sunset over the beach and envision how it would look from the steps of Queen Bansheera's Temple when it was restored to its rightful glory."

"You're sneaking out to that Power Ranger." Diabolico's voice came from behind Ryan. "He will be missing your presence by now. Go son, make up some story about why you've not been there and keep him entranced with you. He will make an excellent slave for the Queen's Temple."

"Yes, father." Ryan said with a delighted tone of voice. He didn't look back as he quickly ran from the area and he didn't stop running until he'd made it to the beach where he and Chad had made the promise three weeks ago.

Ryan reached the small-secluded cove in a state of breathlessness. The sunset was almost over and he saw two figures, a man and woman walking back toward the entrance to the Aqua Base. He frowned until he realized that the male was too tall and fair to be Chad. He walked toward the spot and found Chad sitting morosely in the sand staring out over the darkening waters. Ryan didn't think and was afraid to breathe as Chad started speaking to the night.

"Ry, I miss you so much." Chad's sad, melancholy tone washed out over the water and the small waves lapping near his feet. "I've not been held in your arms or been able to hold you in mine for what seems like forever. Please come tonight, Ry. I need you, your strength, your love, your understanding. It's been a really rough three weeks, Ry. Please God I need him so much. Let him hear my heart's desire?"

Ryan didn't say a word, he couldn't. He just sat down heavily behind Chad and pulled the now startled man into his arms and held him tightly to his chest. Finally, after a few seconds of silence Ryan choked out, "Blue, I've missed you so much it hurts everywhere, but especially in my heart. Love you."

Chad sighed and relaxed against the broad, pale bare chest he knew was behind him. He wriggled in the sand and finally managed to achieve full contact with Ryan's body against his own from his head to where his own butt was on the cooling sands he sat on. "Thank you, God." Chad breathed out as his troubles, worries, and sadness left him completely.

"Why are you thanking God, Blue?" Ryan asked as he snuggled closer to the slightly smaller yet very well built man in his arms.

"Because, I needed you here tonight, Ry." Chad sighed and accepted the offered comfort of Ryan's embrace without a thought. "I've been so worried that you were hurt, missing, even dead when there was no sign of you at the apartment three days ago. I've almost haunted the hospitals in the area until they threatened to call my boss and complain. I've been miserable, Ry."

"I had to leave unexpectedly, Blue." Ryan sighed and held his lover tighter to him. "I got called away for an emergency with my family and I didn't have a chance to leave you a note. I'm so sorry for putting you through that, love."

"It's all right, love." Chad sighed tiredly. "Hold me, let me sleep a while wrapped so safely in your arms, Ry. I need you." Chad slipped almost immediately off to sleep in Ryan's arms. He was completely unaware when Vipra and Diabolico materialized before the two.

"You are right, Diabolico." Vipra cooed as she watched the Blue Lightspeed Rescue Ranger sleeping in Ryan's arms. "He will make an excellent temple slave. He is skilled at pleasure, Ryan?"

"He will be my slave, Vipra!" Ryan growled in anger at the voluptuous demon before him. "My slave, not yours to enjoy!"

"Now, now, son." Diabolico's voice almost held a smile. "We share our slaves and if Vipra wishes to sample yours; I'm sure she'll provide a suitable one for your pleasures while she explores what pleasures this one can give to his masters."

"You said that I would have my own slave, father." Ryan still held Chad protectively in his arms; however his voice was dripping with anger and almost icy as he faced the two demons that had raised him. "Vipra tends to disfigure those she toys with and I rather like the looks of this one. I don't want him maimed to where he cannot provide me with pleasure when I command it of him."

"You chose one that all of us will wish to see writhing in painful pleasure, Ryan." Diabolico's evil voice was filled with chastisement and some rising anger. "He and those other meddlesome Power Rangers will be taught lessons in who is their rightful masters!"

"Of course, father." Ryan said calmly and deferentially. "He will learn, quickly, who is master and who is slave. But that teaching will be at MY hands and no other shall touch him, ever! I claim this one as my personal slave. One I am entitled to as your son and heir, father."

"You speak well, son." Diabolico growled with pleasure. "Very well, the Blue one shall have his punishment from your hands alone. Do not disappoint me, Ryan, for I will take that displeasure out on the one you have so vocally claimed."

Both evil demons disappeared and both men shivered. Chad from the cold of their passage and Ryan from the fear of what will happen to his beloved now should he ever cross the demon that raised him. _"What have I done to us, Blue?" _Ryan thought in panic. _"You will fight to the end to keep father and the others from destroying what has been built since their imprisonment centuries ago. I will lose you when I must do as father commands and punish you for your defiance. You will hate me from then on and that will kill me, inside and out."_ "It's getting late, Blue." Chad said very sadly yet his tone was filled with his love for the man in his arms. "The sun's rays have vanished nearly an hour ago. You need to return to work and I will be at the apartment when your next days off come. I promise that, love."

"Don't go, Ry." Chad pleaded sleepily. "Need you, you complete me, love. Without you I'm lost." Ryan didn't get a chance to answer Chad's sleepy plea because before he could Dana's worried voice floated out from the direction of the Aqua Base's entrance.

"CHAD?" Dana called out unexpectedly from the entrance to the base. "DID YOU FALL ASLEEP OUT HERE?"

"I'm here, Dana." Chad said wearily and sadly as Ryan quickly scooted away into the shadows and disappeared. Chad rose and smiled slightly as he saw Ry making his way up the slight embankment toward the roadway that was nearby. "I think I dozed off for a few minutes out here it was so peaceful."

"It's two hours after curfew." Dana said as Chad jogged up to where she was in the entrance. "I didn't want you getting into trouble and missing your next time off slot. Did the person you've been waiting for show up?"

"Yeah, he did, Dana." Chad said with a small smile playing about his face. "He got called away with a family emergency; but he promised he'd be there for my next time off slot."

"You look happier, more content, tonight. I'm truly happy for you, Chad." Dana said with a smile as the two walked down the long tunnel that led into the Lightspeed Aqua Base far below the waves that tickled the beaches of Mariner Bay above.

"Thanks Dana." Chad said with a sigh as they reached the base itself and they went to their separate cabins for the night.

The next morning, Chad went diving in the bay as usual and then joined the rest of his new friends and teammates in the galley. They ate and were fighting against a monster when the Cyborg Rangers came to their aid. Chad and the others were fired from their jobs as Rangers. Then when the cyborgs went berserk because of a lightening attack by the monster they'd been fighting, Captain Mitchell restored them to their positions.

That night, Chad wearily entered his apartment. They had been given, barring any attacks by Diabolico or Vipra the next three days off. "Ry?" Chad said as he tossed his keys onto the small table by the door and dropped his duffle so he could shrug off his blue checker patterned short-sleeved shirt. He stood in his blue tank top and then a large smile crossed his face as Ryan entered the small living room from the direction of the kitchen.

"Blue?" Ryan asked and then broke into a smile. "How long?"

"Three days." Chad replied as he quickly crossed the open distance between them and embraced his taller lover fiercely.

"I'll worry about eating food later then." Ryan said and surprised Chad when he swept the slightly smaller man into his arms and carried him into the bedroom without straining.

- End of Chapter -


	5. Chapter 5 Questions & Answers

**Blue & Evil: The Beginning**

By: PernDragonrider

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything to do with Power Rangers. Just borrowing the characters for a little romance then returning them. No money being made; so don't sue.

**Author's Notes:** This contains SLASH! Relationship between two men and if you don't things like that please hit the back button and go no further. This plot bunny hid and bit before I could get rid of it. This is a prequel to my drabble entitled "Blue Meets Evil On The Beach!" Just one possible explanation for the tale of how Chad Lee and Ryan Mitchell might have became a couple. Special thanks, kudos, and bowing and scraping at CamFan4Ever's feet. Without her almost instant feedback, patience, and encouragement this tale would have never been written. Enjoy and please leave a review. Pern. Now onto the tale…

Chapter Five – Questions & Answers 

Chad's three days off, following the fiasco with the Cyborg Rangers, went quickly for the two lovers; however they took the time to do things together that interested both of them immensely and Chad found himself enjoying spending time with Ryan more and more. It really didn't matter what they were doing as long as the two were together. Sleeping, eating, or just walking the streets of Mariner Bay, it didn't matter to either of them since the other was there. They took the time for more diving lessons and Chad again took Ryan diving in the bay and together they explored the underwater world that was hidden beneath the sleepy and gentle waves of the bay they lived near.

"You're getting good at this, Ry." Chad said as they stowed his diving equipment into the back of his pick-up truck. "A couple of more dives and you'll know enough to get your diving certification, love."

"I enjoy diving with you, Blue." Ryan told his lover and the man that filled his life so completely. "It's a refreshing change from walking or driving everywhere we need to go and you come alive when you're talking about diving or when you're actually in the water, my love."

"This is my last day off, Ry." Chad said very reluctantly. "Carter is picking me up in the Rescue Rover at six in the morning. I don't want to waste a second of this day cause I'm not sure when we'll have time together again. Joel called this morning and said that we're scheduled for some heavy-duty training when we get back. Apparently Ms. Fairweather has some new toys we have to learn to use again. I don't mind the training; but it doesn't give me time to meet you on the beach at night. I'll leave a message on the answering machine about when I might have time off again."

"I'll be there, Blue." Ryan said as he took the sad and worried Chad into his arms for a quick yet very reassuring hug. "I'll be there whenever you need me; if I can."

"I know that, Ry." Chad said from where he was still wrapped into Ryan's arms and held securely yet tenderly against the taller man. "I'll always be there for you too. Stopping Diabolico and the other demons from destroying Mariner Bay is what I have to do; but I'll always be there when you need me."

"I know that stopping the attacks on the city is something you have to do, Blue." Ryan said with a sad smile on his face yet his mind was churning quickly. "Have you ever stopped to think that you might not be successful and they'll destroy the city and resurrect Queen Bansheera's temple anyway? What happens when you fail, Blue?" _"I have to make him see that defeating Queen Bansheera, Diabolico, and the others is something they can't do! I can't lose him! I need him! He'll be killed and I can't allow that!" _Ryan's thoughts whirled so quickly through his mind that his facial expression didn't have time to change nor did his worried and desperate attempt to reconcile the conflicting emotions going through him show in his eyes. Only his caring, love, and compassion for the man he held in his arms.

"I don't want to even think about not being successful, Ry." Chad replied with a serious expression on his face. "Failure is something I've never accepted with anything and not now. We have to stop Diabolico and the others! Mariner Bay is our home and failing means that you and I will not be together ever again."

"Blue." Ryan sighed as he held him close. "I'm trying to tell you something that you're not going to like to hear."

"You're leaving because of the attacks aren't you, Ry?" Chad said sadly as he stepped from the encircling arms and the very comfortable embrace of his lover and the man he wanted in his life, forever. "It's too much and your family or just you is going to leave. I don't know if I can cope without knowing you're there for me when I get a chance to get away from my Ranger duties, but I will do the best I can if you promise me you'll come back once these attacks are over. Promise me, Ry. I don't think I can live without you anymore."

"Blue!" Ryan said in exasperation yet still full of his love and growing devotion to the man before him. "I'm not leaving Mariner Bay because of the attacks. I'm staying and fighting for you and for my family; but my family isn't exactly happy with our being together. Conflicts and I have to sneak out to see you and spend time with you. My father isn't the most understanding man in this world. Sneaking away is going to get you hurt, Blue. I can't take that thought."

"How will it get me hurt, Ry?" Chad asked with a relieved tone of voice. "I'm a freaking Power Ranger for God's sake. What the hell can he do to me if I'm morphed?"

"More than I care to tell you, Blue." Ryan sighed sadly. "Blue, my father is Diabolico."

"WHAT?" Chad roared as he looked at the very sad and nearly despondent man before him. "You've picked the worst subject in the world for joking about, Ryan!"

"_What by all of Queen Bansheera's powers did I just do?" _Ryan thought in an absolute panic. _"Father, not to mention Vipra or any of the others will ever allow me to continue to live after telling him that. I've got to fix this; but how?"_ Ryan's internal struggle never showed on his face and before Chad could get even angrier, Ryan's slow sultry voice floated out over the waves and caressed Chad's ears; "I'm teasing you, Blue. I can't stand it when you're all pouty and sad. It got you out of the funk you'd fallen into; didn't it lover?"

"That is not something that you should ever want, even in jest, Ry." Chad said with a calming exhale that turned into a sigh as he caught sight of the time on his watch. "We should go back home, love. It's getting late and I have to be up early in the morning. Carter and his five a.m. pick-ups are going to drive me insane. I won't even have time for a quick dive in the morning to center myself before I have to work my ass off training."

"Forget working your cute, luscious ass off training, Blue." Ryan said as he too exhaled a sigh that turned into a small chuckle. "I'm going to work that tight ass off before Carter even has a chance to touch it." Ryan pulled an unresisting Chad into a passionate kiss and when both men needed oxygen more than they needed the escalating passion between them; they broke apart with twin sighs of regret and longing.

"I'm going to hold you to that promise, Ry." Chad said with a grin of sheer delight gracing his face. "I'll forgo my morning dive for a night in your arms anytime, lover."

"Then let's get back to the apartment so I can make good that promise while keeping both of us out of jail for indecent exposure, Blue my love. Drive as fast as you can without getting pulled over for speeding. It wouldn't do for the Blue Lightspeed Rescue Ranger to have to explain to the police that he was speeding and driving erratically because he wanted to get his lover home and let him have his ass for the night." Ryan teased as he jumped quickly into the passenger seat of Chad's truck and smiled a purely lust filled smile at his lover that was just climbing into join him.

"And just who says that I won't be the one having your ass for the night, Ry?" Chad asked as he smiled brightly at his lover and entwined his right hand with Ryan's left hand that was resting on the seat between them. Chad pulled the captured appendage to his mouth and gently teased Chad's palm with a light kiss and an even lighter nip to the sensitive areas he'd discovered their first night together.

Ryan's breathing quickly jumped to a faster pace as Chad teased him mercilessly. "Blue. Home. Please?" Ryan pleaded with a note of quickly rising passion in his voice.

Chad chuckled, started the truck, and drove back to his apartment all the while never releasing Ryan's hand from his own. When Chad parked in his assigned space, both men were quickly out of the truck and rushing headlong toward the door to the apartment they shared. The door hadn't been unlocked and opened for longer than a few seconds before both of them were wrapped in the arms of the other and they were kissing like neither of them would ever see the other again. Ryan retained just enough of his higher brain functions to kick the door closed before he couldn't think of anything but the man in his arms that filled his senses and his heart so completely that every time he tried to think of making his Blue one of the pitiful slaves of the demons that had raised him. He shivered with fear.

Both Ryan and Chad made love to each other many times during their remaining time together. By the time they fell into an exhausted sleep with one wrapped about the other, it was well after two in the morning. Neither of them heard the alarm, the horn of the Rescue Rover blowing repeatedly, or the shrilling of the telephone. Chad awoke when the rays of the afternoon sun snuck through the closed dark curtains over his bedroom window and he grimaced even as he tried to hide his face from the bright sunlight outside. _"Gonna get it over this." _The thought crossed Chad's brain even as he reluctantly and slowly disengaged from the tangle of limbs he and Ryan always slept in. _"Capt. Mitchell isn't going to be happy when I didn't show up today; not to mention how ticked the rest of the team must be. God, there goes my next days off for a long while. Something has got to give or I'm going to lose Ry and my job at the same time."_

Brrring, brrring! Chad grabbed the shrilling telephone after the second ring. "Chad here." He said with a gruff and sleepy voice.

"Chad?" Dana said softly. "You need to get your butt back to the Aqua Base a.s.a.p. I covered for you with Carter; but Dad just got back from the weapons demonstration with Ms. Fairweather. We've got a meeting in thirty minutes. You HAVE to be here for that or your going to get into some nasty trouble."

"I'll be cutting it close, Dana." Chad replied with a small rueful grin gracing his very exhausted Asian features. "But I'll be there. Thanks for covering and before you ask; I had the best time off imaginable. I spent it with my boyfriend. I really can't wait for the two of you to meet one day."

"You just keep him happy, Chad Lee." Dana said with a smile in her voice. "I'll meet him when you're ready to introduce us. Now get your tail moving and get to the base; in time for that meeting."

"I'm on my way, Dana, and thanks for covering for me." Chad replied quietly as Ryan started stirring in the bed. "I'll be there for that meeting."

"You're my friend, Chad." Dana replied with a smile. "I help my friends out whenever I can. Just get here for this meeting or you won't be able to spend time with your boyfriend for at least a month. Dad isn't like the other military types; however missing this meeting will get you confined to base except for fighting of monsters."

Ryan rolled over in the bed and wrapped around Chad's body. Chad sighed tiredly and stroked Ryan's soft hair as he said, "I've got to fly, love. Dana covered for me for missing my ride this morning, but there's a mandatory meeting at the base in thirty minutes. If I'm not there I get confined to base for the next three weeks."

"Go, Blue." Ryan said softly and kissed Chad's side just above the waistband of his briefs. "I'll be here for you, always."

Chad sighed again and twisted to he was half sitting on the bed and half lying on his lover. "Love you, Ry." Chad whispered as he caught Ryan's smiling mouth in a searing kiss of longing, love, and passion. Ryan returned the kiss and the two were again lost in each other until Chad's diving watch chirped on the quarter hour mark. Ryan reluctantly ended the kiss and gently pushed his lover away from him.

"Blue, you have to leave, lover." Ryan sighed in resignation and loss. "I'll be lonely without you, love; but you have to go. You can't chance being late and you're going to be cutting it close as it is. Go before I wrap you up and keep you here with me forever."

"You know I want nothing more; don't you?" Chad asked with a forlorn sigh as he scrambled from the bed and quickly started tossing on clothing. "The day this mess with these demons is over with we're going to spend all the time we've missed, because of this fight, right here in this bed, together, Ry."

"I know, Blue." Ryan sighed again. _"I want the nearly perfect future you paint for us, Chad; but father and the others are strong, invincible. The future I have to look forward to doesn't include you at my side as willingly as you are now, love."_

"We'll beat them, Ry." Chad said as he bent down and gave Ryan another searing kiss on the lips. This time Chad didn't let himself get carried away and when Ryan's hands rose to push up Chad's tight blue t-shirt. Chad broke the kiss and both of them struggled to get their emotions and breathing back under control. "It's getting harder and harder to leave you, love. Don't come to the door or the window please, Ry. I don't think I'll have the strength to leave you if you do."

"I'll just lay here and dream of when we can be together again, Blue." Ryan told Chad very seriously; yet there was a hint of playfulness in his voice too. "It's warm and I could use the extra sleep anyway. Some idiot, nice lady, woke us up way too early with that phone call. I'll just sleep the rest of the day away and then stroll down to the beach to watch the sunset. I might run into this gorgeous Asian man with dark hair, dark eyes, a killer body, which carries enough passion around inside of him to ignite the stars while I'm strolling along the sand. What do you say, Blue?"

"I think, if I can get out of the Aqua Base, that I might just take a walk on the beach tonight too, Ry." Chad replied with a smile spreading across his face as he grabbed his Lightspeed duffle bag and jacket from the chair by the bedroom door. "I might meet this absolutely beautiful and godlike man on the beach. His eyes sparkle with laughter all the time and there's something that draws me to him that I can't explain. Maybe it's his smile, his laughter, or the way he seems to stalk around like a large predatory animal stalking its prey; but I'm completely taken by this man and never want to be anywhere but with him, always."

Ryan didn't have a chance to reply because Chad looked down at his watch, quietly cussed, and then bolted from the apartment with a the front door slam echoing back to where Ryan lay on the bed with a startled expression on his face. "Wow, have to remember he can move that fast from now on." Ryan said with a sleepy smile crossing his face as he heard Chad's pickup squealing out of the parking lot. He snuggled back down in the bed and was asleep almost instantly. Ten minutes later Ryan was rudely awoken by his father's voice echoing in his head.

"**_Ryan!"_** Diabolico screamed angrily into Ryan's mind. **_"You were supposed to keep him from leaving the apartment today. You were to make him late so he'd get into trouble with his superiors. You're disobeying my direct orders and if you don't start following them; you'll not see this Ranger again! Queen Bansheera's return is all that must occupy our thoughts and hearts, son. Now, either get your PET Ranger into trouble somehow or come home! You need to train for your next mission for the Queen."_**

"_Yes father."_ Ryan thought back quickly and obediently. _"I'm supposed to meet him on the beach at sundown tonight. I'll do my best to find someway to get him into trouble then."_

"**_Do so, Ryan."_** Diabolico voice softened from the angry shout of earlier; but his displeasure was still evident to Ryan. **_"If you cannot accomplish that small task; then you will have to be punished and another will be chosen to complete this very important task for the Queen. Succeed and power as you've never known before will be in your hands. The power to destroy Mariner Bay and the Power Rangers will be in our hands after this mission, son. Don't disappoint me, this time."_**

"I won't, father." Ryan said out loud and winced as his voice echoed around the room. "I will not disappoint you again." Climbing from the bed, Ryan's face twisted into a grimace of evil even as his heart clenched in pain at the thought of what his actions tonight were going to do to Chad; his Blue. Ryan spent the remaining hours at the apartment pacing while trying to figure out how to get Chad into trouble with his superiors. Hours later he was no closer to a solution as he tossed the small amount of clothing he had at Chad's place into a duffle bag and prepared to meet his lover on the beach.

Chad just barely made the meeting with his teammates. He'd parked his pickup in a restricted zone near the tunnel that the Rescue Rover used to access Mariner Bay and ran the three miles down that tunnel at his top speed. He reached the Rover's elevator access and then cussed like a sailor when he discovered that their vehicle was tucked securely into its slot overhead. He was still cussing as he started climbing the emergency ladder next to the elevator. He finally stopped cussing as Ms. Fairweather opened the hatch above him.

"Problems, Chad?" She asked with a slight smile on her face.

"Not really, Ms. Fairweather." Chad replied with an expression of desperation combined with anger on his handsome face. "Just missed my ride this morning cause I was diving in the bay and lost track of time. Now I'm running really, really late."

"I believe Dana told Carter that you were helping me set the outside sensors all afternoon, weren't you?" Ms. Fairweather asked with a knowing wink on her face. "I see that you've gotten your things from your vehicle and are ready to join us."

"All the outside sensors are in place, ma'am." Chad replied as he finished the climb knowing that he'd have to do just that during his daily morning dive. "And yes, I've gotten my things from my pickup and stowed my personal diving gear there too. I'd appreciate it if someone could move it from the restricted zone at the end of the tunnel and put it in its normal place."

"I'll have it seen to as we get to the conference room, Chad." Angela Fairweather said with a bright smile. She leaned closer and told him quietly. "Dana asked if I'd delay and give you an excuse for being late. Tomorrow, during your dive, would you check on the sensors near pod 5? They need realigning."

"Sure thing, Miss Fairweather." Chad said as he followed the civilian scientist that was responsible for all of Lightspeed Rescue's equipment to fight off the demons that were attacking. He was shocked when one of her civilian assistants grabbed his duffle bag and keys from his right hand.

"I'll see to getting the Blue Ranger's vehicle and gear to where it belongs, Angela." Dorothy said with a huge smile for both Ms. Fairweather and Chad. "Captain Mitchell is awaiting your arrival in the large conference room. And Chad, you might want to dunk your head before getting there; you were supposed to be diving. Oh, and the security equipment that monitors the tunnel's entrance had a glitch about five minutes ago; we've lost all the footage for the last fifteen to twenty minutes. Security is checking it out; but everyone thinks it was a small power surge."

"Thank you, all of you." Chad said with a sigh as he stopped by one of the many restrooms (heads) in the base and proceeded to soak his hair thoroughly.

"Just don't make a habit of it, Chad." Ms. Fairweather said with a wink as they entered the conference room.

After the meeting, Chad kept up the charade of having been diving all morning for their resident scientist. Late after dinner was served in the galley, Chad snuck from the room he shared with the green Ranger, Joel and started toward the tunnel access and the beach above. He met Carter and Dana at the hatch and the three walked up the long tunnel and exited out a small door onto the nearby beach.

Chad's eyes scanned the secluded cove and he sighed in disappointment when Ryan was nowhere to be seen. He walked dejectedly down the beach and instead of stopped halfway between the base entrance and the rocky escarpment that secluded this area from the larger area of the bay; he kept walking and climbed onto the rocks and sat just out of the reach of the encroaching tide. _"Damn it all to hell, Ryan!" _Chad's thoughts were chasing around like a mouse on a wheel. _"I want you, need you, and yet something inside of me wants to wrap my hands around your throat and choke the life out of you. What the shit is going on, love? Every time we're together lately I'm fighting this murderous feeling and today was no different. Am I under some demonic spell or what?"_

Chad was so lost in thought that he didn't hear Ryan's soft approach and when Ryan set his hand onto Chad's shoulder. The martial artist, diver, and Power Ranger exploded into action and before he could react or say a word, Ryan was on his back with Chad straddling his chest and preparing to drive his fist into Ryan's stunned face. "BLUE!" Ryan screamed as he frantically tried to push the smaller man off of him or stop the fist that threatened to bash his face into the rocks below his head. "What the FUCK has gotten into you?"

"YOU!" Chad screamed in confusion and pain, as he jumped up and turned his back to Ryan. "Every time I'm with you lately, Ry, something inside of me wants to choke the life out of you. I need you, I love you; but this whatever it is inside that wants to harm you is driving me mad, Ryan!"

"You almost did kill me just now, Blue." Ryan said with a dejected and hurt tone even as his eyes didn't reflect the tone of his voice. They were hard, hard as steel and glinting evilly. "So something inside of you wants to murder me? So do it, Chad! Kill me and get it done and over with! Just fucking kill me like you want to, you fucking asshole. I thought you were different, I was wrong. You're just like every other bastard with a dick! You wanted me until I'm inconvenient. Well screw you, Blue! I'm outta here!" By the time Ryan shoved Chad from behind and turned to leave he was screaming his words for everyone to hear.

"Ry!" Chad called as Ryan's anger gave him the strength to shove Chad almost ten feet from where they'd been on the beach and the next wave of the incoming tide soaked the Blue Lightspeed Rescue Ranger from his already wet tennis shoes to just below his pectoral muscles. "RY!" Chad screamed in despair as his lover kept walking away from him with a stiff back and a very quick stride. He struggled against the pull of the water and regained the rocky area of the beach; but Ryan was gone.

"Problems, Chad?" Carter asked with a frown of disgust and displeasure twisting his face.

"Just a small misunderstanding, Carter." Chad said with a bit of his anger at Ryan leaving in the face of Carter's angry face. "Sorry if I disturbed your and Dana's stroll along the beach."

"Looks more like a faggot's quarrel." Carter said with a sneer. "Maybe Captain Mitchell needs to know that our Blue Ranger needs to be confined to base for conduct unbecoming a Ranger."

"Screw you, Grayson!" Chad said angrily as he pushed past Carter's larger frame and started back toward the base. The Red Ranger's angry words about Chad's choice in lovers, the sunset, and everything but Ryan's words forgotten in his haste to get inside and reflect on what had just happened on the quay.

"Stop right there, LEE!" Carter screamed and then thought better of it as Dana hurried over to see what was going on between the two men.

"What's going on?" Dana asked as Chad had stopped at Carter's scream and turned to face his teammate and leader. "Is there a problem, Carter, Chad?"

"Nothing important, Dana." Carter tried to back pedal and keep Dana away from Chad.

"I had a fight with, Ry, Dana." Chad said dejectedly as he turned away from the hatred in Carter's eyes. "A very nasty and public fight that Carter overheard. I'll go, pack my stuff, and give my morpher to Captain Mitchell on my way out of the base. I won't work with a homophobe that has my life in his hands every day. I can't. I've got to find Ryan. I've got to… " Chad never finished his words as he slid to the beach face first and unconscious at Dana's feet with a large deep gash across his back that was bleeding fiercely. Dana and Carter looked up to see Vipra standing there with her blade dripping Chad's blood. Before the two could morph, she'd disappeared.

"Carter!" Dana snapped. "Give me your shirt. I've got to stop this bleeding."

Carter immediately ripped his shirt off and gave it to Dana. The paramedic used it to staunch most of the bleeding and the rest of the team, Joel and Kelsey, were on the beach with a stretcher. Joel and Carter lifted Chad's unconscious body from the sand and placed him gently face down on the stretcher. The team carried their teammate into the base with grim looks on their faces. The base doctor examined Chad and stitched the wound on his back closed. "He'll be fine in about three days." Captain Mitchell and the team were told as they waiting in the small medical bay for word on Chad's condition. "No diving and no strenuous exercising until the wound is healed. Other than that, he'll be just fine."

"He's a fag." Carter said angrily. "He should be off the team."

"He's our friend, Carter." Kelsey said with an angry tone at Carter's words. "He's a teammate too, a valuable one. His orientation makes no difference to the job he does."

"Kelsey is right, Carter." Captain Mitchell said with a sigh for Carter's homophobia. "I knew before I chose him that Chad preferred male partners; but he does his job to perfection. He's the perfect choice for the Blue Ranger's powers. I will not take his place on the team for his sexual orientation."

XXXXXXXXXX End of Chapter XXXXXXXXXX

A/N: Well that's the chapter. Drop me a review and let me know what your thoughts are about this one. Hope you liked this one folks. More to come soon as I can work it out in my head and hopefully another case of writer's block won't slam down on this one. Up next, Ryan's reactions to Vipra's attack on Chad as well as the aftermath of their fight. Stay tuned. Pern.


	6. Chapter 6 Steel & Titanium

**Blue & Evil: The Beginning**

By: PernDragonrider

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything to do with Power Rangers. Just borrowing the characters for a little romance then returning them. No money being made; so don't sue.

**Author's Notes:** This contains SLASH! Relationship between two men and if you don't things like that please hit the back button and go no further. This plot bunny hid and bit before I could get rid of it. This is a prequel to my drabble entitled "Blue Meets Evil On The Beach!" Just one possible explanation for the tale of how Chad Lee and Ryan Mitchell might have became a couple. Special thanks, kudos, and bowing and scraping at CamFan4Ever's feet. Without her almost instant feedback, patience, and encouragement this tale would have never been written. Enjoy and please leave a review. Pern. Now onto the tale…

Chapter Six – Steel & Titanium 

"Kelsey is right, Carter." Captain Mitchell said with a sigh for Carter's homophobia. "I knew before I chose him that Chad preferred male partners; but he does his job to perfection. He's the perfect choice for the Blue Ranger's powers. I will not take his place on the team for his sexual orientation."

"He goes off by himself every morning, Captain." Carter said with a grim, angry tone. The scowl on his face was clear for everyone to see. "How do we know he's not secretly working for those demons that attack us? We don't. Was he even doing the underwater work for Ms. Fairweather today or was he just slacking off and shacking up with his fag lover?"

"He was with his lover, dad." Dana said with a quiet voice as she watched Chad sleeping on the medical bed. "I covered for him and so did Ms. Fairweather and her team. He just simply slept in. I don't blame him for wanting the extra time because Carter always picks him up first on his way out to get the rest of us. It's not fair to Chad that he has to cut short the precious little free time we do get because it's convenient for Carter to grab him instead of, for one time, picking up the one furthest out and letting Chad sleep in for a change."

"Well he gets to sleep in for the next three days, I think that's fair compensation." Carter said with a deriding tone of voice. "Faggot needs to learn to watch his back."

"Carter you don't even share a room with him and you're acting like Vipra's showing up was his fault." Joel said with an angry tone of voice. "I've shared a room with Chad since we were chosen. He told me our first night that he preferred male partners and I'm still his friend. He's never made a pass at you, anyone in the Aqua Base, or me for that matter. Like the Cap said, he's the perfect choice for our team and he's not going to take away his powers because he's gay. Deal with it, Carter. You need to enter the twenty-first century and get out of the dark ages anyway, guy."

Carter stalked out of the medical bay and to his room while the rest of the team sat with Chad until he woke up. Chad woke up about fifteen minutes later and tried to roll to his side. "Ry?" He asked sleepily and with some disorientation.

"Your in the med bay, Chad." Dana told him as she helped him to sit up without pulling on his wound. "Vipra attacked you out on the beach and almost sliced your back open. The doctor stitched it up, but no diving or strenuous stuff until it's healed."

"Yeah, like fighting off monsters isn't strenuous." Chad said with a sad tone and an even sadder expression on his face. "Dana, would you call my apartment, please? I just want…"

"I tried, after the attack, Chad." Dana said with a compassionate voice. "All I got was your answering machine and I left a message that you'd been hurt out on the beach tonight. I also told him that he was welcome to come to the base to see you; if he felt the need to."

"Thanks, Dana." Chad said as he slipped down off the bed and turned to leave the room. "I don't know what's with me; but every time I'm with him lately something inside of me wants to hurt him. I don't want him hurt, but I'm going nuts fighting off whatever is inside causing that feeling."

"It's the powers, Chad." Ms. Fairweather said with concern in her voice as she entered the room with a blue and white checked shirt for Chad to put on. "The Lightspeed powers will react like that when you're near a demon or something created by them. It's a kind of failsafe for you and the others that I built into them."

"He's not a demon nor was he created by them." Chad said sternly with a large dose of anger rising in his voice. "He's a man, just like me! Something is screwy with your failsafe then!" He stalked from the room and to the compartment he shared with Joel, the Green Ranger. Dana and Ms. Fairweather watched him go with matching expression of shock and surprise on their faces. It was the first time they'd ever seen Chad lose his temper with anyone.

Chad remained in his room for the night and the whole of the next day as well. He refused all offers to join anyone doing anything. The night after Vipra's attack on Chad saw the whole team, minus Carter and Chad, gathered in the empty mess hall talking quietly.

"He won't say two words to me." Joel said with a downcast expression. "I can get a 'hello' and 'fine' out of him, but he won't say more than one or two words to me at all. He's really fallen into a black funk and I don't know how to help."

"Did he and his lover have a fight?" Kelsey asked with a slight smile on her face. "Maybe we could get them to kiss and makeup. That would lift Chad's spirits then."

"Sadly I don't know who he is, Kelsey." Dana said with a frown. "I know he's tall with sandy brown or dark blond hair, but other than that I have no idea who he could be. Chad did call a name in the infirmary, but only a first name or a nickname. I've been calling Chad's place almost non-stop since Vipra's attack and no one ever picks up the phone; all I get is Chad's answering machine."

"His boyfriend, lover, or whatever hasn't been back there since they fought on the beach." Carter said quietly from door to the mess hall. "I've been there five or six times over the last two days trying to see if I could catch the guy. I've spent the rest of the time combing the beach to see if he'd show up at sunset. No luck. I apologize to all of you for my outburst about Chad's preferences. I've just come from his room after apologizing to him too. Captain Mitchell is right. He's the perfect person for our team and his preference in men for bed partners makes no difference in his job performance. Joel, you were right too. I did need to come out of the 'dark ages' and join the modern world. I want to say I'm sorry to all of you too. I've been a real ass these past couple of days to everyone."

Ms. Fairweather smiled and patted the chair next to her. "Come on, Carter; join us. We're trying to find a way to pull Chad out of his slump into depression. The doctor will be taking the stitches out in the morning and I'm going to send Chad out to check the underwater sensors. Maybe diving again will break him out of this black mood he's fallen into."

Dana looked at the clock and then blanched slightly, "I have to go. There's something private I have to take care of." She quickly rose from the chair and left the mess hall with everyone staring at her retreating back.

"What's up with Dana now?" Kelsey asked with a frown. "She's been really nervous and jumpy for the last day or so. That's not like her at all."

"Actually, I know and it is a private matter for Dana." Ms. Fairweather said sadly. "She's going to go and see her father and they're going to commemorate a shared loss. They'll both be a little on the sad side tomorrow, but they'll be fine. Just treat them like you always do."

"Well, I can't think of anything to help out Chad and I'm going to bed. If getting him back out diving every morning breaks his depression then I'm going to need as much sleep as possible. He seems to drag me out of bed after his dives. I know it's because he wants to share the joy of his discoveries, but sometime I just wish he could share them with someone else. He's a great guy and I love watching him talk about diving, but a six o'clock wake up call is a little on the extreme side. I think it's cause mine and Dana's door is the first one he passes on the way to the mess hall."

The group split up after that and each went back to their own rooms for the night. Dana and her father, Captain Mitchell, shared the remembrance of Ryan's loss together and they too retired for the night. During the night a lone figure stood on the beach near the submerged base. His sun-streaked light brown hair was blowing slightly in the soft breeze that blew in from over the restless waves that lapped against the sand at his feet. His tall, muscular frame was encased in a wet suit and at his feet sat the rest of the gear needed for going scuba diving. His dark eyes looked out toward the horizon that couldn't be seen for the darkness that shrouded the entire city.

"_Forgive me, blue."_ The lone diver's thought as he donned his tank and prepared to walk into the warm waters of the bay. _"Just as soon as the rest of the Rangers are destroyed and the Queen's Temple is back in its rightful place we'll be together forever, love. My plans to leave are already set in motion. We'll sneak out of Mariner Bay and never look back. I'm going to be leaving all I've ever known for you, blue. I hope you appreciate it."_ The diver walked into the waters of the bay and then disappeared into the dark swirling watery depths. His dive light illuminated the dark murky waters that he swam through silently. The only sounds those most divers hear, the rushing of the oxygen when he inhaled and the gurgle of the released bubbles when he exhaled. Topping an underwater rise, the diver came into sight of the submerged Lightspeed Rescue Aqua Base. _"I'm going to tear Vipra apart with my bare hands for touching my, BLUE! Damn father and his plan for me to sneak in. I damaged those sensors weeks ago when first diving with Blue. He's never fixed them yet. Why'd he have to send that witch after him?"_

"**_You are much to attached to that pet Ranger of yours, Ryan."_** Diabolico's thoughts echoed very eerily inside of Ryan's head while he was deep in the waters of the bay. **_"I sent Vipra to be sure that the sensors you disabled wouldn't be repaired until after you'd obtained the titanium morpher, son. Do not disappoint me and dally with the task of retrieving that powerful item and returning home."_** _"Yes father."_ Ryan answered with a very respectful mental tone and then turned hard eyes on the bright lights of the base before him. He swam into the moon pool that Chad had told him was always open and eased off his fins, tank, and mask. He carefully dripped his way to the office of Captain Mitchell and entered. The key for the safe was exactly where his father had said it would be and he smiled slightly as he retrieved the powerful morpher, shut the safe and started sneaking back out of the base again. He was unprepared to run into the one person inside that he gave anything more than a damn about. Ryan tried to ignore the fact that he'd just bumped into his lover; but as always Chad was faster and more observant than he needed to be.

"Sorry," Chad said as he bumped into the large, wet suit clad body in the darkness of the hallways. Chad stopped short and then whirled and grabbed Ryan by the shoulders. "Ry!" Chad hissed in near panic. "What the hell are you doing here, in the base? You could go to jail for sneaking in here. Gods, Ry! Where the hell have you been? I've been calling the apartment to apologize since we fought. I… I'm sorry, Ry. Please, I need you to understand. It's not me, there's something wrong with the failsafe that was built into the powers. That's what was going on with me on the beach. Ry, please, understand. That wasn't me!"

"_Can't let him find me with the titanium morpher! Have to distract him, quickly!"_ Ryan's thoughts chased so quickly through his head that he wasn't sure if they were his or something his father, Diabolico, had sent to him. He drew in a deep breath and then looked down into Chad's worried, frightened, and love filled eyes. He sighed as his heart constricted almost painfully and then dipped his head and kissed the man before him gently on the lips. "I'm here because I missed you. I thought I'd find you out diving in the bay and I wanted to surprise you, Blue. I got in through the moon-pool and I thought I'd find you there suiting up. Come join me in the water and let's explore together, love. I was an ass that night too, Blue. I'd gotten into a fight with some of my family over my lifestyle. We both have some things we need to makeup for, but come on, Blue, join me?"

Chad looked into Ryan's eyes and smiled slightly as Ryan kissed him. He listened to Ryan's words and nodded his acceptance, but when he reached up to wrap his arms around Ryan's neck the stitches still in his back pulled tightly and painfully. "Ugh." Chad grunted with the slight pain of the tugging stitches. His tone was forlorn and sad when he continued. "Can't dive until these damn stitches, curtsey of that bitch Vipra, are taken out, Ry. I want nothing more than to spend forever with you right now, but you have to get out of the base before you get discovered. We could both get into some very serious trouble if you don't go. Ms. Fairweather was saying that I'd be out diving for her in the morning. Meet me on the beach tonight, Ry, please?"

"I'll try, Blue." Ryan said smiling down into Chad's warm eyes. "I have some things I have to do for my family and then I'll try and meet you on the beach if I can. Love you, my blue." Ryan quickly turned and stepped into the moon-pool access to the bay and donned his gear. Before he could pull his mask down over his face, Chad grabbed his arm with a gentle hand.

"Ry, be careful out there, love." Chad said very quietly. "You shouldn't be diving alone, love. Don't take that chance again, Ry." Chad's concerned tone and the love shining through his eyes and words tore into Ryan's heart and before he could reply Chad had pulled him into a deep, passionate and loving kiss. "Take care, Ry. I'll be on the beach tonight; waiting for you." Chad turned and quickly left the room. He smiled slightly as he made his way to the quarters he shared with Joel Rawlings, the Green Ranger. He slipped back into the room as quietly as he'd left and Joel was never the wiser. Chad lay in his bunk and drifted into a light sleep.

Chad's alarm went off and he jumped quickly out of the bed while tossing a bright and cheerful, "Good Morning, Joel!" Chad quickly stripped off his still damp sleeping pants and pulled on his swim trunks and the blue tank top he wore when diving. He shimmied into his wetsuit and left it draped over his trim hips as he sauntered out of the shared quarters and to the medical bay. Joel opened one bleary, sleepy eye and then just rolled over and fell into a light doze until his sleep brain clicked into gear and he too jump from his bunk, not in happiness but in confusion.

"Damn that man changes moods more often than a woman." Joel groused even as a bright smile lit up his chocolate dark good looks. "Guess getting to dive this morning did the trick." He used the intercom on the wall of his room and called Kelsey and Dana's room. "Dana! Kelsey! Chad was smiling this morning! Good morning, lovely ladies. Come join the world!" Joel smiled at the sleepy replies and then cut the connection and woke up their early rising team leader for once. "Carter! Chad was HAPPY this morning! Come on, join the world and let's meet him in the mess hall when he finishes his dive!" Joel dressed quickly and made his way to the science bay where he was greeted with happy smiles from everyone in the area.

"Good morning, Joel." Angela Fairweather greeted the Green Ranger with a happy smile. "Our wayward Blue Ranger is out fixing the sensors this morning. He should be back in about a half an hour if there's not any trouble." Ms. Fairweather's smile was the brightest anyone had seen for days. "Looks like him being able to dive again has driven his depression away for now."

"Something drove his depression and sadness away; that's for sure." Joel told her with a bright smile of his own. "He woke ME up this morning chirping good morning before he left for the infirmary to get his stitches out. Took me about five minutes to realize that he was smiling so happily that he was beaming, something we haven't seen for almost a week now."

"Good!" Carter said as he joined them. "About time our Blue Ranger came back to himself and us too."

"Chad was always with us, Carter." Dana said with a smile as she too joined them all in the large science pod of the Aqua Base. "He's just been so sad because of the disagreement with his boyfriend, you, and then the attack by Vipra that confined him to base. He's just been out of sorts for a few days."

"Well, I for one am glad he's back to something akin to normal." Kelsey said as she joined her teammates yawning slightly. Kelsey turned her attention to the monitors that were following Chad's progress as he realigned the proximity sensors that had been jostled loose. She smiled as she saw him finish and then look around the underwater world he loved so well. "He loves it out there so much. It's a pity none of us dive or that there isn't someone that would dive with him all the time. He… Oh my god! What's that?" Kelsey's tone was normal and thoughtful until a large shadow seemed to obscure Chad from everyone's view.

"That is Chad's buddy." Ms. Fairweather said with a smile. "That huge grouper fish comes around every time Chad dives. Chad's the only one that's ever been able to get close to it."

"Not the fish! The man with the fish!" Kelsey said and then watched as Chad and the unknown diver swam along with the huge fish for a few minutes before Chad turned and indicated he was returning to the base with hand signals. They all watched amazed as the unknown diver and Chad came together in something that resembled an embrace and then the fish and the other diver swam off as Chad came back to the moon pool.

"I see your morning dive wasn't without its surprises today, Chad." Ms. Fairweather said as one of her assistants helped Chad shed his tank, weight belt, fins, and mask.

"Good dive this morning, Ms. Fairweather." Chad replied with a very happy smile. "Maxi, that huge grouper, came by with a friend, a very unexpected friend, but welcome nonetheless."

"Maxi?" Carter asked with a mock frown. "Thought your friend was a man, Chad."

"Maxine, Maxi for short, because she's the largest grouper I've ever seen." Chad replied with a smile in Carter's direction. "I wasn't talking about Maxi, though. I was speaking of her companion, Carter. My friend, partner, sometimes joins me when I dive in the mornings. He's been worried cause I haven't been out for the last few days. Seeing him was as big of a relief for me as it was for him. We've got some stuff to work through, but I think we'll see the other side of this without many waves."

"Welcome back, Chad." Kelsey smiled and waved from the rear of the group. "Guess you're going to drag me out of bed to talk about your dive again?" Her teasing tone had all of them smiling as Chad looked up and then smiled brightly.

"Why, Kelsey, you're up already, sleepyhead. Where's the fun of that?" Chad teased back with a huge smile and happiness sparkling in his dark eyes.

"Why don't we all make our way to the mess hall and Chad can tell all of us about his discoveries this morning?" Captain Mitchell said from the doorway. His usually somber and serious face had a smile of happiness for his Rangers. "Come on, I think the chef has made Chad's favorites this morning. I thought I overheard him saying that our Blue Ranger needed cheering up. He must have been mistaken."

"Coming, Captain." Chad said with a happy tone as he stepped into the small changing room near the moon pool and donned his tank top and a pair of light grey sweatpants and then joined his teammates in the mess hall for a friendly breakfast that filled the place with laughter, teasing, and merriment.

The day was shaping up to be a quite one until the alarms started ringing. The rangers quickly assembled and shot from the base in the Rescue Rover to take of the latest threat to Mariner Bay. They fought against Vipra and then against a Ranger, the Titanium Ranger. Their newest weapons, the V-Lancers, knocked the seemingly indestructible Titanium Ranger to the ground and they were all saddened that they'd taken out another Ranger when he rose from the ground, his visor up. Carter called for them to take their weapons to full power and Chad froze.

"Ry?" He whispered and then he shocked them all by powering down. "RYAN! NO! Please, No!" Chad said as he stood between the threat of the Titanium Ranger and his teammates weapons. "Ry, for the love of god, please love. Why? How?"

"Rangers! Stand Down!" Captain Mitchell cried over the communication circuit.

"Do what?" Carter demanded even as he was watching tears flow down Chad's face.

"I said STAND DOWN and return to base!" Captain Mitchell said sadly.

"Blue, leave." Ryan said as he turned his back on Chad's tears. "I have a score to settle and then… I don't know. Go, blue! Now!"

Chad returned to the Rescue Rover, the tracks of his tears and his distress clearly visible on his face. For once none of them said a word until the returned to the Aqua Base and Carter angrily confronted Captain Mitchell on his calling them off.

"I called you off because he's my son!" Captain Mitchell said in distress.

"Oh lord!" Chad said with a gasp as he grabbed onto the wall and slid to the floor. "This is not good." Chad's whisper was only loud enough to reach Carter and he spun to see Chad slumped on the floor hugging his legs tightly about the calf while his face was buried into his knees and he rocked back and forth with his back banging into the wall.

"Chad." Captain Mitchell said with an understand tone. "It's not your fault, it's mine." Captain Mitchell moved to Chad's side and he gently took the distraught Blue Ranger's arm. Tugging gently Captain Mitchell got Chad to his feet and then he walked into his private office, locking the door behind him. "I'll take care of Chad. You four meet us in the conference room in two hours. If Diabolico gives us that much time to recover and regroup; if he doesn't then we'll deal with explanations as you go."

XXXXX The End of Chapter Six XXXX

A/N: I realize that the end of this chapter diverges from canon; but sometimes it happens, folks. Anyway, please read and review. Reading is grand, but feedback is writer's crack. Feed my addiction, please? On another note a very special, thank you to Allie351 and CamFan4Ever. Thanks for your input and opinions on this tale to date. Without either of them; I don't think story would be as good as it is. May the Power Protect You, Always! Pern.


	7. Chapter 7 Homecomings

**Blue & Evil: The Beginning**

By: PernDragonrider

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything to do with Power Rangers. Just borrowing the characters for a little romance then returning them. No money being made; so don't sue.

**Author's Notes:** This contains SLASH! Relationship between two men and if you don't things like that please hit the back button and go no further. This plot bunny hid and bit before I could get rid of it. This is a prequel to my drabble entitled "Blue Meets Evil On The Beach!" Just one possible explanation for the tale of how Chad Lee and Ryan Mitchell might have became a couple. Special thanks, kudos, and bowing and scraping at CamFan4Ever and Allie351's feet. Without both of their almost instant feedback, patience, and encouragement this tale would have never been written. Enjoy and please leave a review. This is it folks. The Last Chapter in this tale. I apologize to all of my readers for the long time it took to update this, but I got into a fic exchange that had a deadline. Ambitious me went back just a little too far and that story took up all of my time. Now that it's completed I can get back to what's important. Updating what I put on the back burner. My apologies to you all; now onto the tale…

Chapter Seven – Homecomings 

"Chad, this is my fault." Captain Mitchell said as he tried to comfort the shocked senseless Blue Ranger. "You'll hear the whole story when I tell the others in the briefing, but I have NO problems with my son being with you. I'm not, can't be, strictly military. Ryan was born the way he is, Chad. There is no shame in doing what comes natural to you. Please, you have to snap out of this if we're going to save Ryan and Mariner Bay. The Titanium powers are the strongest we've ever seen."

"I… he's your… your son, sir." Chad said with hiccupping sobs as the tears again streaked down his face. "Heaven help me, I love him. I saw with my own eyes that he's freely working with the demons trying to take out our city and the world and I couldn't fire on him. I couldn't destroy him. How can I go back out there and face him?"

"With the guts and determination you've shown since accepting the Blue Ranger's powers, Chad." Captain Mitchell said with conviction in his voice. "You go back out there and face my son; bring him home for me, to me and Dana, Chad. You have something that not even Dana and I have to bring Ryan back to where he belongs; you have the greatest power of them all to work with, love."

"I have to tell you that Ryan was in the base early this morning, sir." Chad said sadly. "I never even questioned him when he said he came in through the moon pool entrance. I taught him to dive! I'm responsible for this whole thing."

"If he hadn't had you, Chad, he'd have found someone else to teach him what he needed and we wouldn't have the greatest weapon, in any arsenal, to combat him with; love is what I'm talking about." Captain Mitchell said with an understanding tone. "You are not totally responsible for this, Chad Lee; I am. When faced with all three of us dying when hanging from that cliff I gave my only son into Diabolico's hands when he was just a child. I would give anything to take the day back and have kept my eyes on the road, but it isn't possible to travel in time and I have to face all of you with the whole sordid tale in just about ten minutes. I want you to go into that conference room with pride, determination, and your love for my son showing clearly, Chad. We can and we will bring him back to us all." Captain Mitchell rose and moved around the table to the distraught Chad's side. "Come on the others are surely waiting for us."

Chad rose and did what he was asked. He placed all of his grief, sorrow, and pain deep inside and only showed pride, determination, and his love for Ryan. His fear and everything else was locked away deep inside. The meeting was short, the tale told, and then they were again called out to face off against one that should be their own.

"Chad," Carter said, with a serious yet understanding tone, as they were getting ready to jump into the Rescue Rover and once again face off against Ryan Mitchell and the Titanium Lightspeed powers. "If you can, talk to him. Get him to join us. Not for the powers he's holding and using, but for all of us, for Dana, Captain Mitchell, and most importantly for you. You need him and I think in the end; he needs you too. If he didn't we'd have never survived out there and he'd have destroyed us all without a second thought. He's human, Chad, remember that. Sometimes a word or touch can mean more to us than anything else. I just need to know that if push comes to shove that you're with us on this and can do the job regardless of how this turns out."

"Thanks, Carter." Chad said with a solemn tone. "I'm here and I'm with my team; no matter what. Ryan has to be stopped before he single handedly manages to turn all of Mariner Bay over to Queen Bansheera and the Demons. I'll do what I signed onto do when I accepted the position. I'll fight until I'm dead to keep our city and the world safe."

"Good to know, Chad." Kelsey said with a somber tone as Chad and Carter jumped into the Rescue Rover and it started tilting down so that they could exit the base through the underwater tunnel.

"We'll get him home, Dana." Chad said with conviction as he gently laid his hand on Dana's slumped shoulder. "I'll bring him back to his true family; I promise."

"Don't go getting yourself hurt doing that, Chad." Dana said with a sad smile as she placed her hand over his on her shoulder. "You're important to us too and we'd be as sad over losing you as we were over Ryan's loss."

"I'll try, Dana." Chad returned her smile and then they lapsed into silence for the remainder of the fast trip into downtown Mariner Bay and the coming confrontation with Ryan Mitchell, Titanium Ranger, working for Diabolico and the demons under him.

Carter slid the large bright yellow Hummer sideways and was shocked when Chad vaulted and flipped quickly out of the vehicle without waiting for the others. "CHAD!" Carter yelled sternly as he too jumped quickly out and chased after the seemingly going rogue Blue Ranger. "COME BACK HERE!" Chad never answered and then Carter discovered why he'd jumped so quickly from the Rescue Rover when Chad executed a completely perfect baseball slide for home plate and the game-winning run into a small space under some rubble that had fallen from a building. Under the rubble was a child, a crying, frightened, and cold little girl that Chad was handing gently out into Carter's hands.

"Get her out of here, Carter." Chad said gently as he handed the little girl into his team leader's waiting arms. "I'm going to have to morph to get out of here. Not going to be able to make it back out of that hole I got in through. This whole pile is unstable and it'll probably collapse the second I move more than I am right now."

"Chad, that was a…" Carter never got to finish because the high pitched whine of a laser blast passing by his shoulder and the resulting explosion of chunks of the concrete rubble had him tucking the little girl tighter to him and shielding her with his body as he spun his back to the flying bits and pieces of shrapnel that the laser blast had created. Even as he was turning away and shielding the child in his arms, Carter cried out as he saw the rubble shuddering and groaning as the explosion weakened it even further.

He wasn't conscious of handing the child into Dana and Kelsey's waiting arms, nor was he even conscious of morphing. All he knew was that if he didn't get to Chad before the formation of rubble collapsed, Chad would be buried alive under, possibly, a ton of crumbled concrete and steel. Carter twisted and dove for the rubble pile, only to be slammed away by a grayish silver clad arm and white-gloved hand.

"NO! He's MINE!" Ryan shouted as the Red Lightspeed Rescue Ranger dove forward toward where Chad was looking out with a panicked expression as he looked at Ryan and Carter tumbling toward the slowly collapsing pile he'd pulled the little girl from just seconds earlier. He raised his communicator to his mouth and said in a quiet, calm tone that belied the panic in his eyes. "Something in the rubble. Can't morph. Tell, Ry that I… I'll love him forever." Chad's voice broke as he said the last words and Dana, Kelsey, and Joel could see the tears coursing down his face as realization dawned on them that when the pile collapsed, he knew, Chad knew he'd die since he couldn't morph. "I know, Dana." Chad whispered over the still open circuit. "Don't watch, any of you. I…" The circuit was cut as the fighting forms of Carter and Ryan, still morphed, slammed into the rubble and the grinding, shrieking of it's collapse horrified the three watching.

"CHAD!" Dana shouted as she started forward, wrenching herself from the grips of Kelsey and Joel. "NO! God, NO!" Dana grabbed Ryan and Carter and flung them away from each other with a fury and power she'd never used before. "DAMN YOU BOTH TO HELL!" Dana screamed at them and then started furiously digging at the site of the small hole Chad had slid through to get to the little girl he'd given his life for. "HELP ME DIG, DAMNIT!" Dana snapped the order and both Carter and Ryan dropped to their knees to help.

It was the crying of Kelsey, held in Joel's arms, that was the first thing that had registered in Carter's brain since taking the small girl from Chad's hands. He looked down to see his hands, covered with the gloves of his Ranger armor, digging furiously through what was once a small, semi-secure cave, which had protected the child and then Chad. "Chad! Damn you, you said you'd be with us for this!" Carter said with such force that both Ryan and Dana stopped digging and turned to face him.

"There's a possibility he's still alive." Dana said quietly as she turned and continued digging. "We have to get to him. Kelsey, how long do we have? You're the cave and climbing expert. Come help us; you and Joel."

"There's got to be ton of rubble on top of him by now, Dana." Carter said with a hitch in his voice as he looked at the place where he'd lost a friend. "That much weight, he's not a big man but the chance of him finding a pocket in this… they're astronomical, Dana."

"Who was in there with the child?" Ryan asked in a cold tone that was filled with anger and something else that they couldn't discern at that point. "Which of you took the bait for the trap I set?"

"Look around you, Ryan Mitchell." Kelsey said with a rising anger when she'd heard Ryan's words. "Look at the colors we wear and YOU tell us who was in there, rescuing a helpless child YOU put into danger." Kelsey never stopped digging but her words froze Ryan's angry reply as he slowly looked at the colors of the Rangers digging furiously in the mess the collapse left. He dropped to his knees as his mind registered that there wasn't a figure in blue digging with them. He curled into a small ball of pain and cried as the Titanium Ranger's armor disappeared from his body to leave him laying in the crumbled concrete and steel writhing in misery.

"_I'm here, Ry."_ Ryan heard Chad's voice in his head as the memories of Chad holding him through the night and comforting him through the nightmares that had plagued him since childhood. _"I'll always be here with you. You're my world, Ry, and without you I'm lost and alone. I love you."_

"Ryan." Dana said with compassion as she gently touched her weeping brother's shoulder. "Come and help us find him. We need your strength, big brother. He's still with us; I think. Something in the powers would tell us if he wasn't. Come on, he needs you to be strong for him."

Ryan's tears didn't dry up, but he uncurled from the ball of misery he'd been curled into and looked into the eyes of his sister. He couldn't speak, but he nodded and with a voice choked with tears he called out, "Titanium Power" and morphed once more. He looked at the pile and then smiled slightly behind his helmet. "Quit digging." Ryan snapped.

Carter and the others looked up at Ryan with various degrees of shock, surprise, and uncertainty showing in their body language and eyes. "We can't stop. He'll… he'll died as he's slowly crushed by the weight. We have to get to him, at least we have to try." Kelsey said through the tears that streaked her face. She'd allowed her helmet's visor to rise so she could see the pile of stones, steel, and concrete that now marked the possible spot of Chad Lee's grave. "He's got minutes, three or four at most. We have to get to him!"

"He's not there." Ryan said with a serious tone that carried not only his love, but also a conviction that none could even question. "Blue would have found a hole. I'm going to use my weapon to blast away most of this mess. I know that he's below street level; because I dug the hole first before I put that poor kid in there and then covered her while I blasted the building above. I crawled out leaving her there and then further weakened the area around her. I dug the hole with my blaster so it's not perfect. There are small cracks and crevasses that Chad would have been able to shimmy into. We've got to get the majority of this off of the top to even get to the hole. That's what I'm going to do, blast this mess off the top so we can find him."

"Blasting it off will cause more of it to collapse." Kelsey said with a negative shake of her head. "If he's alive and in a crack or small hole down there; he doesn't have much breathable oxygen down there. Hypoxia and asphyxiation are always a possibility too. We can't take that chance."

"Do it, Ryan." Carter said surprising the others with the stern ordering tone in his voice. "Chad… you wouldn't hurt Chad, on purpose, if you could help it. There's that much good left in you. We'll follow your lead and if you're not right; you'll have eternity to punish yourself for killing a man that did nothing wrong but to fall in love with you. That's punishment enough for you in my eyes."

"Step away from the pile." Ryan said with a gritty determined tone that belied the tears pooling in his eyes and running down his face. Tears all the Rangers could see because Ryan hadn't lowered his visor. The others stepped back and Ryan took careful aim. He studied the pile, remembering how he'd built it and where Chad could have possibly found shelter. Then he fired a long burst of energy from his blaster. The rubble pile erupted with large, medium, and small chucks of debris flying away from where the Rangers stood. When he stopped firing, Ryan immediately went back to moving large chunks of what remained away.

"I've got him!" Dana said moments later as she moved a large chunk of concrete and found the back of Chad's head. "Come on Chad, hang in there, guy." Dana said as she and the others started removing more of the debris around him, careful not to cause another shift that might crush the man further.

"Be all right, Blue." Ryan whispered, almost prayerfully. "You have to be all right or… " Ryan trailed off as Dana ran for her EMT bag and started checking over the still form of Chad Lee.

"He's breathing, barely." Dana said with a small sigh as she checked for pulse, heartbeat, and respirations. "He looks like he's asleep, but his pulse and respiration is too slow for someone just sleeping. I can see no outward signs of injury, but he should probably be checked out anyway."

"hm'm fine." Chad slurred as he slowly stirred and opened his eyes. His first sight was Ryan, still morphed into his Ranger armor. Chad smiled a lopsided smile and said with a quiet somber tone. "Hey, Ry, if ya won't come to the side of the angels for family; how about coming over for the devil ya do know?"

"Oh Gods, Blue!" Ryan said with a very exasperated yet joyful tone as he carefully scooped the smaller un-morphed man from the crouched fetal position he was still in. "Only you would say something like that to me right now, Chad Lee." Ryan chastised, but there was no censure in his voice only joy and happiness.

"Ease him down, Ryan." Dana said with a smiling yet authoritative tone. "Let me check him out."

"I'm fine, Dana." Chad replied his voice coming quickly back to normal and he uncoiled from Ryan's arms and surprised everyone when he landed on his feet. "I found a small hole under the pavement that would hold me. I dove in and then went into a meditative trance. Knew you'd have to dig for a while to get to me so I meditated to slow down my breathing and everything. No much good air got through so I didn't want to pass out from CO2 build up. See, I'm just fine." Chad finished talking and then brought his morpher up to his chest and called out, "Lightspeed Rescue!" He morphed into the Blue Lightspeed Ranger and then laughed as he was crushed in a tight group hug by his teammates even as Ryan's arms were wrapped around him from behind and Ryan was included in the hug too.

"Staying with us, Ry?" Chad asked very seriously as he was released by his teammates and allowed to stand on his own. "Staying with me?"

"Staying on both counts, Blue." Ryan said with an equally serious expression. "I have some things that I have to work through with my birth father, Captain Mitchell, but I'm staying." Ryan looked up and then he screamed "LOOK OUT!" He twisted to where Chad was behind him and protected as Vipra and nearly a platoon strength force of Batlings fired at the unsuspecting Rangers. Well they would have been unsuspecting, except for Ryan's warning cry.

The melee that was joined after the first attack by Vipra and the Batlings exhausted all the Rangers, even Ryan. But throughout the battle he'd found himself helping each of his new teammates fight against seemingly overwhelming odds and winning. After the battle they returned to the Aqua Base with Ryan riding in the Rescue Rover seated so closely to Chad that they could have shared the same seatbelt had it been long enough to go around both of them.

"Dang," Joel groused with a teasing tone. "And here I thought getting another teammate meant I didn't have to sit all alone anymore. What didn't I shower or something this morning?"

"Can it, Joel." Kelsey told him with a happy tone as she watched the two sitting happily next to each other, each supporting and comforting the other with nothing more than the touch of a hand to an arm or shoulder. "Look at is this way, my friend. Either you're going to be getting an extra roommate, a room to yourself, or you're going to wind up sharing with Carter. Whatever happens from now on, we're together."

"Aww, you mean I can't share with you and Dana?" Ryan asked with a teasing voice as he smiled a very real and happy smile. His smile quickly turned to a slightly twisted grimace as Chad playfully elbowed him in the ribs for his remark.

"The ladies don't need you, Ry." Chad said seriously as he looked up and into Ryan's eyes. "I do, always have, and always will."

"Good." Dana said as the Rover started down the tunnel into the base. "Ryan needs you too, Chad. He's just too stubborn, like Dad, to admit that he does."

That night, after talking with his father and discovering the lies Diabolico had told him all his life a nearly furious Ryan was stalking the base looking for any signs of Chad, his Blue. When he didn't find him he sighed and went looking for his sister, Dana, or else that anyone that might be able to tell him where Chad was. He ran into Carter, literally, in the hallway. "OOF! Sorry." Ryan said with a sad, distracted tone. He turned to move on down the hall when Carter stopped him by calling his name.

"Ryan!" Carter said with a surprised voice. "I thought you'd be out on the beach with Chad, watching the sunset. Isn't that like a nightly ritual for the two of you?"

"Beach?" Ryan said with a shocked tone and then Carter watched as smiled of total happiness and love transformed the worried frowning expression that had initially covered his newest teammate's face.

Carter didn't even take offense at the fact that Ryan never said 'thank you' or anything. He simply turned and headed for the exit at a run; one that quickly gather speed until Ryan was racing as fast as he could to get outside to his 'Blue'. Carter smiled and continued down the corridor. He approached Joel and Chad's old room and then stopped. He knocked and smiled when Joel answered almost immediately.

Joel noticed what Ryan hadn't, the bag Carter had over his shoulder and the one in his hand. "Going someplace, Carter?" Joel asked as his face was lit up by the smile that he gave his teammate, leader, and friend.

"Actually I am." Carter said seriously and then smiled when Joel realized what the bags meant. "I'm moving in here and wondered if you'd help me surprise both Chad and Ryan by helping me move Chad's stuff to my old room. Kelsey and Dana are putting Ryan's things in there as we speak."

"Oh so I'm losing the roommate I just got know for one that's going to pull rank on me when it comes to the bathroom." Joel teased as he moved so that Carter could come into the room. "Chad sleeps over there, Carter." Joel's voice took on a more serious tone. Just drop your stuff over by my bed and we'll get Chad all packed up and move his things down to your old room. Just one question for you, thought; why do you have to move?"

"I didn't HAVE to move, Joel." Carter said smiling as he and Joel quickly yet carefully packed up all of Chad's possessions. "I volunteered to give Chad and Ryan my old room. It's the only room, besides Captain Mitchell's and one of the VIP quarters that has a bed big enough for the two of them to be together. Captain Mitchell was going to put them into the VIP quarters, on the other side of the base, when I volunteered for them to have my room and I'd bunk in with you. These bunks are big enough for one person, but I can't see Chad and Ryan having to contort to share and we know they would be sharing. I would if I was in their place and it was my girlfriend, lover that was my roommate. This way they won't be getting injuries from sleeping and can trail full out."

"Good thinking." Joel said with a smile as they quickly finished packing up Chad's things. "Although you might have a bedmate without wanting one tonight if someone doesn't tell Chad about the change in rooms."

"Ms. Fairweather and her team is taking care of that for us." Carter said smiling as they made their way down the corridor and into the next pod where Carter's old room was located. "I just want both of them to be as comfortable as they can be while working here and that's what I also told Captain Mitchell as the reason for volunteering to change rooms. I think he saw through me though because he did comment that your and Chad's room was closer to Dana and Kelsey's room." Joel and Carter shared a knowing look and a laugh as they joined Dana and Kelsey in getting Carter's old quarters set up for Ryan and Chad to occupy.

While their teammates were preparing a surprise for the two, Chad and Ryan were up on the beach together watching the sunset, trading slow, loving, sensual kisses, and just rejoicing in being together. "So, Blue." Ryan breathed after one passionate exchange of kisses that left both of them gasping for needed fresh air in their lungs. "You still being driven mad with the need to kill me?"

"Not anymore, Ry." Chad answered back with a sigh as he snuggled into Ryan's embrace. Chad shivered slightly and Ryan wrapped around him to provide warmth and shelter for Chad as the breeze off the now dark waters of the bay slid over both men. "Never was me in the first place, but the powers that were doing it."

"I know and I knew, Chad." Ryan said with a sigh of regret, apology, and sadness combined. "Diabolico made sure I knew everything about the Lightspeed Powers, especially the Titanium powers. My switching sides is going to make for some interesting battles in the days to come, but here is where I've always belonged. Not in that limbo like nothingness that they exist in."

"You've always belonged to this world and not that one, Ry." Chad said seriously even though he shivered with cold again.

"Come on, lets get back into the base before my little sister has my head for you catching pneumonia out here in nothing but a pair of trunks." Ryan said standing up and easily pulling an unresisting Chad to his feet.

The two walked back to the base hand in hand and once back inside they were slightly shocked to see a note tacked to the wall on blue paper with silver calligraphy on it. "Chad and Ryan," the note read. "Follow the signs to where a surprise awaits you both. Welcome home Ryan and welcome to the team." It was signed with many, many signatures the most prominent being Ms. Fairweather's signature.

"What signs?" Chad asked and the both men gasped in shock as they discovered the entwined blue and titanium grey ribbons that were attached to the card and that stretched down the center of the dim lit corridor before them. "So do we follow them or just go back to my room and get away together for a while?"

"Let's follow them, Blue." Ryan said with a happy tone and amusement shining in his eyes as he looked slightly down into Chad's smiling upturned face. Ryan stole a quick, passionate kiss before taking Chad's hand in his and two slowly walked through the base following and collecting the ribbon as they went.

Eventually, a long twenty minutes later, the two arrived at the end of the ribbon and sign trail. The door before them was closed and Chad frowned because he thought they were outside of Carter's room, but he couldn't be sure because they'd traveled so much of the underwater base that he was turned around and somewhat lost. They read the last sign together and smiled because Dana, Joel, Kelsey, and Carter, their teammates, signed this one. "Welcome to your new home, Ryan Mitchell and Chad Lee. This is your quarters now. Enjoy and be happy!"

"Chad, Ryan." Captain Mitchell said as he stepped through the hatch that would lead to the passageway to the next pod over. "Have a good time out watching tonight's very gorgeous sunset?"

"It was a beautiful sunset, Dad." Ryan said and purposely wrapped his arm around Chad's shoulders. "Thanks for asking."

"Relax, Chad." Captain Mitchell smiled as he saw Chad stiffen slightly when Ryan's arm went around his shoulder. "I told you before that I understood and that I was all right with my son's choices. Now why don't the two of you go and enjoy your new quarters that your teammates and friends, not that's not right; it should be teammates and family worked so hard to get ready for the two of you. You'll get no hassles from anyone in this base over your relationship. Not because Ryan is my son but because you're both respected and valued members of this team. We'll see you both at eleven in the morning for training. Chad you know where to go. Goodnight gentlemen and sleep well."

Captain Mitchell walked away with a smile on his face leaving behind a stunned Chad and Ryan in his wake.

"Let's go to bed, Blue." Ryan said opening the door and stepping inside the room. He stopped and gasped in shock, which caused Chad to nearly run into him. Both men looked around and their eyes filled with tears of joy and happiness. The tears never fell, but the sight of dozens upon dozens of small votive candles in colors of blue and silver lighting the room with a flicker golden glow and leading the way to the large single bed in the room dried up the tear and brought matching expressions of love, lust, and need to both men's faces.

"We're not going to disappoint our family and not make use of that very tempting bed are we, Ry?" Chad asked as he wrapped the taller man into his arms from behind and laid his head against Ryan's back.

"I've discovered that you can never disappoint family, Blue." Ryan replied in a tone that was quickly becoming smoky with rising desire. Ryan twisted easily in Chad's loose grip and the two slowly made their way to the bed and fell upon it. That night they shared their bodies with each other as they shared their whole hearts and souls. They made love until both were exhausted and they fell asleep still entwined. They both had just enough strength to pull the lightweight blanket and sheet up over them before sleep and dreams claimed them.

The next morning at eleven o'clock, Carter frowned when only Kelsey, Joel, and Dana were present for training. "Where the heck are they?" Carter said with an exasperated, slightly angry tone of voice.

"They're still sleeping, Carter." Ms. Fairweather's voice issued over their communicators. "Come back inside, you've got to see this. It's the cutest thing in the world."

Dana and Kelsey shared a quick look and then took off running followed closely by Carter and Joel who shared smiles of mischief. The four quickly made their way to the room and Captain Mitchell was the one to slowly open the door and show them the sight inside. Ryan was sleeping on is side with his head facing the door and Chad was held tenderly in his arms; Chad's head pillowed on Ryan's shoulder and his face tucked into the juncture of Ryan's neck and shoulder. Both were held tightly in each other's arms and everyone was sure that the small contented smile on Ryan's face was echoed on Chad's hidden face.

"Aw, that's sweet." Dana muttered and was shocked when Ryan's eyes opened and he looked right at all of them. His smile never left his face and he relaxed as he saw that it was his father and his teammates that had invaded his and Chad's room.

"Morning." Ryan said quietly as he tried to rouse Chad from his deep sleep.

"Let him sleep, son." Captain Mitchell said with an indulgent smile on his face. "In fact, training can wait until tomorrow. Today all of you should rest from the battle yesterday. Take the time to get to know Ryan and Chad better. Although I'm surprised that Chad wasn't out diving and swimming at four in the morning like he usually is."

"We did go diving this morning, sir." Chad said sleepily as he rolled over and his eyes caught sight of the time. "SHIT! RY! Why didn't we set the alarm? We're late and Carter is going to skin us alive." Chad bolted from the bed without realizing that they had company and he wasn't exactly dressed. Kelsey and Dana gasped, turned red, and spun around quickly as Chad vaulted from the bed and Ryan's arm in a slightly sleepy panicked dash for his clothing.

"BLUE!" Ryan shouted and then dissolved into fits of laughter as Chad seemed to realize that he and Ryan weren't alone and dove back into the bed with his head disappearing under the covers and making a slight bump down by Ryan's feet even as he frantically covered himself with hands and blankets at the same time.

Everyone dissolved into laughing fits, including a very red faced Chad as he ripped the blanket and sheet out from under the mattress and stuck his head out of them and glared at everyone. "Warn me next time I'm about to give a free peep show; would ya, Ry?"

That morning set the stage for many more to come; although Chad and Ryan never again forgot to set an alarm when they had training. Endless friendly teasing and easy camaraderie came about between all of the Lightspeed Rescue team after that morning. The trials and tribulations they endured while seeing their city and the world safe from the demons was always tempered with laughter, friendship, love, and trust.

XXXXX The End XXXXX

A/N: That's it folks. The end of the tale is here. The reference to the beach and the sunset is where my drabble "Blue Meets Evil On The Beach" takes place and that drabble was also the inspiration for this tale. I hope you've enjoyed this and that you'll take the time to drop a review and let me know what you think. Praise and criticisms is welcomed equally. May the Power protect you, always! Pern.


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